CW Advisors LLC Buys 2,578 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• CW Advisors LLC significantly increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 85.3%, accumulating 5,600 shares valued at $1,283,000 by the end of the first quarter.
• Becton, Dickinson and Company reported earnings of $3.68 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $3.40, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share.
• Despite strong earnings, the stock has seen mixed analyst ratings, with four analysts giving it a Buy rating and seven issuing a Hold rating, alongside a consensus target price of $211.44.

CW Advisors LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 85.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 2,578 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,283,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,002,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $6,414,322,000 after buying an additional 1,259,750 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,575,351 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,880,510,000 after buying an additional 448,644 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,843,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,567,654,000 after buying an additional 667,957 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,420,887 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,012,649,000 after buying an additional 312,124 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,091,149 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $707,872,000 after buying an additional 37,733 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $199,607.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,575 shares in the company, valued at $783,194.25. The trade was a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Claire Fraser sold 863 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.30, for a total value of $165,954.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 23,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,450,398.90. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,214 shares of company stock worth $579,206 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price target (up from $185.00) on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $211.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE BDX traded up $1.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $192.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,329,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,590,658. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $183.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.27. The firm has a market cap of $55.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.20. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.28. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 7.51%.The business had revenue of $5.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.50 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.300-14.450 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is 74.82%.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products for healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and the general public worldwide. The company operates in three segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional.