Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Purchases 12,192 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, owning 435,930 shares valued at approximately $99.85 million.
• Multiple research analysts recently downgraded Becton, Dickinson's ratings, with Goldman Sachs and William Blair changing their outlook to "neutral" and "market perform," respectively.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings, with earnings per share of $3.68, beating estimates, and a revenue jump of 10.4% year-over-year.

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 435,930 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 12,192 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company makes up about 1.9% of Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC owned about 0.15% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $99,854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BDX. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3,563.3% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 17,014.2% in the first quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 63,836 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $14,622,000 after purchasing an additional 63,463 shares during the period. Allstate Corp lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.3% in the first quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 10,101 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,414 shares during the period. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Compound Planning Inc. lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 33.3% in the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,408 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. William Blair downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $211.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE BDX traded down $3.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $191.51. The company had a trading volume of 539,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,618,208. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.89 billion, a PE ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.20. The stock's 50 day moving average is $182.12 and its 200-day moving average is $194.78.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.28. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The business had revenue of $5.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.50 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.300-14.450 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Profile

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.