Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 27,156 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its Becton, Dickinson and Company stake by 17.5% in the first quarter, selling 27,156 shares and leaving it with 128,156 shares valued at about $20.15 million.
• Insider selling continued at BDX, with EVP Michael David Garrison and CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. both selling shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans; insiders have sold 5,188 shares worth $765,120 over the past three months.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold,” with an average price target of $181, while the company recently reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped estimates and raised full-year EPS guidance.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 17.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,156 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 27,156 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $20,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22,225.2% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 40,711,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $790,079,000 after acquiring an additional 40,528,680 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,223,149 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the 4th 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 during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.5% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.66, for a total value of $160,226.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,918,633.52. The trade was a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,163 shares in the company, valued at $16,122,355.05. This trade represents 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. Insiders have sold 5,188 shares of company stock valued at $765,120 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BDX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $177.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, June 12th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $181.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of BDX stock opened at $152.90 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $127.59 and a 12-month high of $187.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $147.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $42.13 billion, a PE ratio of 38.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 0.21.

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 company had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.67 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 5.33%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.35 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.520-12.720 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th were issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. 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 currently 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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