Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Buys New Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• Rakuten Investment Management opened a position in Becton Dickinson, buying 49,096 shares valued at about $8.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own nearly 87% of the company’s stock.
• BD beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates: EPS was $4.15 versus $4.07 expected, while revenue rose 5.4% year over year to $5.27 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.06 and authorized repurchases of up to 10 million shares.
• Subdued fiscal 2027 revenue-growth guidance has tempered the positive results and weighed on the shares, despite favorable analyst actions including a higher price target from Evercore ISI.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 49,096 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $8,934,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,721,533,000. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,000,064 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,269,960,000 after buying an additional 1,177,256 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 13,815,335 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,090,675,000 after buying an additional 1,887,224 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter worth $474,993,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,101,695 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $318,050,000 after acquiring an additional 30,766 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 2,438 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.84, for a total value of $440,887.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,856 shares in the company, valued at $2,686,559.04. The trade was a 14.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Feld sold 165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.49, for a total value of $31,100.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,717,022.80. This represents a 0.83% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,907 shares of company stock worth $1,269,128. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $213.05 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $187.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a PEG ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.22. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $127.59 and a 12 month high of $214.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.07 by $0.08. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 14.79%. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.96 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 10th will be issued a $1.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 10th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is currently 126.51%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Becton, Dickinson and Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BDX reported adjusted Q4 EPS of $4.15, above analysts’ roughly $4.07 estimate, and revenue of $5.3 billion, up 5.4% year over year and ahead of expectations. For FY2026, free cash flow rose 42.5% to $2.9 billion. BD fiscal 2026 results
• Positive Sentiment: The board raised the quarterly dividend 1% to $1.06 per share, marking its 55th consecutive annual increase, and authorized an additional 10 million share repurchases. These actions may support investor returns and signal confidence in cash generation. Dividend and repurchase announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI raised its price target to $230 from $210, providing a favorable analyst signal. Evercore ISI price-target update
• Negative Sentiment: The main concern is FY2027 guidance: reports characterized the revenue-growth outlook as subdued and the overall outlook as largely in line with expectations. This tempered the positive reaction to the Q4 beat and has put pressure on BDX shares. Coverage of FY2027 guidance

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday. Barclays assumed coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $187.20.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

Becton, Dickinson and Company, commonly known as BD, is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells a broad range of products used by healthcare providers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical companies and patients. Its offerings support medication delivery, diagnostics, infection prevention, surgical care and other clinical procedures.

BD's products include needles, syringes, injection devices, intravenous administration systems, medication-management technologies, specimen-collection products, diagnostic systems and laboratory instruments.

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