Vest Financial LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC increased its stock holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 17.2% during the second quarter, bringing its total ownership to 264,002 shares valued at approximately $45.4 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and T. Rowe Price, also boosted their positions in Becton, Dickinson, indicating strong interest as over 86% of the stock is owned by such funds.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Becton, Dickinson, with price targets ranging from $172 to $230, and an overall average rating of "Hold" as of October 2023.

Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 17.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 264,002 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 38,808 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.09% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $45,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,002,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $6,414,322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,750 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,575,351 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,880,510,000 after acquiring an additional 448,644 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,843,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,567,654,000 after acquiring an additional 667,957 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,420,887 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,012,649,000 after acquiring an additional 312,124 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,091,149 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $707,872,000 after acquiring an additional 37,733 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BDX shares. Argus increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on 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. Wall Street Zen raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $200.00 price target (up previously from $185.00) on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $205.40.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total transaction of $171,937.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,226 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,167,375. The trade was a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $881,077.23. This trade represents a 19.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,023 shares of company stock worth $562,036. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $186.41 on Monday. 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 fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.43 billion, a PE ratio of 33.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.25. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $190.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.73.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 7.51%.The business had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 8th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is 74.82%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Profile

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.

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