Plato Investment Management Ltd Purchases Shares of 11,485 Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management acquired 11,485 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter, valued at approximately $1.73 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.97% of BDX.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with eight Buy ratings, eight Hold ratings and one Sell rating; the average price target is $185.67. Recent targets range from $150 at Goldman Sachs to $210 at Jefferies.
• BDX exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.23 in EPS and $4.98 billion in revenue, while revenue increased 5.4% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.05, equivalent to a 2.3% annualized yield.

Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 11,485 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $1,728,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of BDX. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 64.2% in the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 156 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Eight 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. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $185.67.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $182.39 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $127.59 and a 52 week high of $187.35. The firm's 50 day moving average is $158.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $161.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.94, a P/E/G ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.19.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 14.79%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.68 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.620-12.720 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is 126.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 2,438 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.84, for a total value of $440,887.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,686,559.04. This represents a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $1,918,633.52. This trade represents a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 11,779 shares of company stock worth $1,974,669 in the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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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