Royal Bank of Canada Sells 168,320 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada has reduced its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 14.2%, now owning approximately 1 million shares valued at $232.34 million.
• The company reported an EPS of $3.68 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, while its revenue was $5.51 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 10.4%.
• Becton, Dickinson and Company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share, which translates to an annualized dividend of $4.16 and a yield of 2.2%.

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 14.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,014,305 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 168,320 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.35% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $232,336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 335 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,317,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 273.6% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,724 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,114,000 after purchasing an additional 10,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,470,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on BDX. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Piper Sandler reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $211.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Claire Fraser sold 863 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.30, for a total value of $165,954.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 23,143 shares in the company, valued at $4,450,398.90. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.29, for a total value of $213,643.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $881,077.23. This represents a 19.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX stock traded up $0.92 on Friday, reaching $192.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,244,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,915,159. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $185.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.60. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $163.33 and a 1 year high of $251.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $55.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.27.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.28. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The firm had revenue of $5.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.300-14.450 EPS. Analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.82%.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products for healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and the general public worldwide. The company operates in three segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional.