Sei Investments Co. Cuts Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• Sei Investments Co. reduced its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.09% of the company valued at $58.98 million.
• In addition to Sei Investments, several hedge funds have made changes, with Lord Abbett & Co. LLC increasing its holdings by 8.2% and GQG Partners LLC acquiring a new stake worth around $690 million.
• Becton, Dickinson and Company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.04 per share, which reflects an annualized dividend yield of 2.1% and a payout ratio of 74.82%.

Sei Investments Co. lessened its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 259,511 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 8,350 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.09% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $58,983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter worth about $27,000. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 341.4% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, Director Claire Fraser sold 863 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $192.30, for a total value of $165,954.90. Following the sale, the director directly owned 23,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,450,398.90. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total transaction of $199,607.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,575 shares in the company, valued at $783,194.25. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,214 shares of company stock valued at $579,206. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on BDX. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $211.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE BDX traded up $2.7820 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $197.7820. The stock had a trading volume of 684,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,658,747. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.10. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $163.33 and a 1 year high of $251.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $178.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $196.21. The firm has a market cap of $56.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.20.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $5.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.50 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.300-14.450 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is presently 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.