Howe & Rusling Inc. Raises Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its Becton, Dickinson and Company position by 32.8% in the first quarter, ending with 32,547 shares valued at about $5.1 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mixed: analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $181, even though some firms raised targets while others cut them.
• BDX reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.90 per share on revenue of $4.71 billion, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.05 per share, equating to a 2.7% annual yield.

Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 32.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 32,547 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 8,036 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc.'s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $5,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22,225.2% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 40,711,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $790,079,000 after purchasing an additional 40,528,680 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9,056.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,232,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $979,290,000 after buying an additional 5,174,944 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,678,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $7,118,282,000 after buying an additional 4,223,149 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 23,219.2% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,155,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $769,397,000 after buying an additional 4,137,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $734,321,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BDX shares. Zacks Research upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Evercore increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $180.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $175.00 price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $181.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $158.10 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $43.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.02, a P/E/G ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.21. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $147.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.33. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $127.59 and a 1-year high of $187.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.35 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were paid a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is 106.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.66, for a total transaction of $160,226.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,172 shares in the company, valued at $1,918,633.52. The trade was a 7.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 transaction of $404,511.40. Following the transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 5,188 shares of company stock valued at $765,120 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

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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