Palisade Asset Management LLC Has $8.02 Million Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• Palisade Asset Management cut its Becton, Dickinson and Company stake by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 41,308 shares valued at about $8.02 million.
• Analysts remain mixed on BDX, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $182.73 despite several recent target cuts and rating changes.
• Becton, Dickinson reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.90 per share and revenue of $4.71 billion, while also announcing a $1.05 quarterly dividend payable June 30.

Palisade Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 19.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,308 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 10,268 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $8,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,678,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $7,118,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,223,149 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,989,132 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,714,871,000 after purchasing an additional 116,737 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 11,646,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,260,139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,592 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,486,694 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,841,083,000 after purchasing an additional 336,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,885,361 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,331,165,000 after purchasing an additional 53,884 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on BDX. Zacks Research raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Argus lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $230.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $182.73.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $146.13 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $40.27 billion, a PE ratio of 37.00, a PEG ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $127.59 and a 1-year high of $187.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $150.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.93.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

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 $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 106.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.48, for a total value of $166,628.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,272 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,161,922.56. This represents a 7.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $404,511.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,122,355.05. The trade was a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,013 shares of company stock valued at $593,434. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

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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