Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 4,223,149 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• Vanguard Group raised its Becton, Dickinson stake by 13% in Q4, buying 4,223,149 shares to hold 36,678,939 shares (about 12.87%) valued at roughly $7.12 billion.
• Becton, Dickinson beat Q earnings (EPS $2.91 vs. $2.81 expected) but missed revenue forecasts ($4.49B vs. $5.15B) and set FY2026 guidance of $12.35–$12.65 per share (analysts expect ~$12.56).
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $1.05 (annualized yield ~2.8%), authorized a $10 million share buyback program, and has about 87% institutional ownership.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,678,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 4,223,149 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.87% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $7,118,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mattern Capital Management LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 40,711 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $7,901,000 after acquiring an additional 4,666 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,536 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,239,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,834 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,461,000 after purchasing an additional 4,196 shares during the period. Generali Investments Management Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 71.3% during the fourth quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 3,477 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447 shares during the period. Finally, MWA Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,885 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE:BDX opened at $152.15 on Monday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $127.59 and a 1-year high of $187.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $163.18 and a 200 day moving average of $183.02. The firm has a market cap of $43.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.10. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 15.76%. The company had revenue of $4.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.43 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.52%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 0% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on BDX shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $184.00 to $157.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Friday, April 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $167.00 price target for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $189.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $174,027.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 36,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,713,291.43. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BDX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.