Heartland Advisors Inc. Acquires 16,087 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.0% in the first quarter, buying 16,087 additional shares and bringing its total to 116,344 shares worth about $18.3 million.
• Analysts remain mixed on BDX: the consensus rating is Hold with a consensus price target of $180.29, while recent firms adjusted targets and Weiss Ratings downgraded the stock to Sell.
• Becton, Dickinson reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $2.90 per share on revenue of $4.71 billion, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.05 per share for a 2.7% yield.

Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 16.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,344 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 16,087 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company accounts for about 0.9% of Heartland Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Heartland Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $18,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.6% during the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,328 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368 shares in the last quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the first quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 5,400 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 2,675 shares during the period. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.5% in the first quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,753 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $4,678,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.2% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 355,449 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $55,887,000 after buying an additional 84,539 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Group LTD acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on BDX shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America cut their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $177.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Evercore set a $180.00 price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $180.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $158.14 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $127.59 and a 1 year high of $187.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.19 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's 50 day simple moving average is $148.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.39.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,764 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $404,511.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,163 shares in the company, valued at $16,122,355.05. The trade was a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.66, for a total value of $160,226.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,918,633.52. The trade was a 7.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 5,188 shares of company stock worth $765,120 over the last ninety days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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