First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 314,434 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 35,843 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.11% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $49,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crux Wealth Advisors raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Crux Wealth Advisors now owns 6,297 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,222,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC now owns 3,545 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 6,108 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BDX shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $170.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $180.29.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,764 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $404,511.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,122,355.05. The trade was a 2.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.66, for a total value of $160,226.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,918,633.52. This represents a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 5,114 shares of company stock valued at $753,877 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $156.26 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.56, a P/E/G ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.73. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $127.59 and a 1 year high of $187.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.13. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 5.33%.The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.35 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.520-12.720 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 106.33%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells a broad range of medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. BD's products are used by healthcare institutions, clinical laboratories, life science researchers and the pharmaceutical industry to enable safe, effective delivery of care, specimen collection and diagnostic testing. The company's operations span multiple business areas focused on medical devices, life sciences research tools and interventional technologies.

BD's product portfolio includes single-use medical devices such as syringes, needles, needlesafety and injection systems, infusion therapy and medication management solutions, as well as vascular access, urology and oncology devices acquired through its interventional business.

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