Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 16,108 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• Nomura Asset Management trimmed its Becton, Dickinson and Company stake by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 16,108 shares and leaving it with 581,016 shares valued at about $112.8 million.
• Other institutional investors also made notable moves, with several increasing holdings and Norges Bank establishing a large new position; institutions now own 86.97% of BDX.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold with a $183.64 price target, while the company recently beat earnings and revenue estimates and announced a $1.05 quarterly dividend yielding 2.9%.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lowered its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 581,016 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 16,108 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.20% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $112,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Founders Financial Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 15,881 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $3,082,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 114.4% during the fourth quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 11,764 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,283,000 after buying an additional 6,278 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 88.3% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 575,371 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $111,662,000 after buying an additional 269,787 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $734,321,000. Finally, Hilltop Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $397,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore upped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $180.00 to $190.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $170.00 to $159.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $183.64.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $147.13 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 fifty day moving average price of $151.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.02. 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 cap of $40.54 billion, a PE ratio of 37.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 0.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.67 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 5.33% and a return on equity of 15.37%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.35 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.520-12.720 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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