Ieq Capital LLC Lowers Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC reduced its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 51.3%, selling 14,196 shares and holding 13,474 shares valued at $3,086,000 at the end of the reporting period.
• Becton, Dickinson and Company reported earnings per share of $3.68 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.28, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 10.4%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.04, reflecting an annual yield of 2.2%, with a payout ratio of 74.82%.

Ieq Capital LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 51.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,474 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 14,196 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $3,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 341.4% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 target price (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Citigroup cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $211.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $189.97. The company had a trading volume of 535,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,605,785. 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 cap of $54.45 billion, a PE ratio of 34.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.27. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $163.33 and a 12-month high of $251.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $184.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $193.54.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $5.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.50 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.300-14.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.29, for a total transaction of $213,643.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at $881,077.23. This represents a 19.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Claire Fraser sold 863 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.30, for a total transaction of $165,954.90. Following the sale, the director owned 23,143 shares in the company, valued at $4,450,398.90. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.