HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 10,799 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its Becton, Dickinson and Company stake by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,799 shares and leaving it with 161,343 shares worth about $31.3 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: recent moves included a Zacks upgrade to hold and a Weiss Ratings downgrade to sell, while MarketBeat shows an overall consensus rating of Hold with an average target price of $184.86.
• BDX recently beat earnings estimates, reporting $2.90 EPS versus the $2.77 consensus and revenue of $4.71 billion, while also maintaining a quarterly dividend of $1.05 per share.

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 161,343 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 10,799 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $31,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crux Wealth Advisors lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Camelot Portfolios LLC lifted its stake in 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 during the period. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.6% during the fourth 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 period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.9% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.7% during the third quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 2,241 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BDX shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $175.00 target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $184.86.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $147.76 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $40.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.41, a P/E/G ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 0.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $127.59 and a fifty-two week high of $187.35.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.13. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 5.33% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.35 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.520-12.720 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.33%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 0% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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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