Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Sells 29,843 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,685 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 29,843 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $6,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 256.8% in the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 132 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 474.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 85.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.5% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 219 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 2.8%

BDX opened at $207.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.23. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $162.29 and a one year high of $251.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $194.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $188.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 16.42% and a net margin of 7.68%.The company had revenue of $5.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.81 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.750-15.050 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were given a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BDX. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $207.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 629 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.03, for a total transaction of $123,302.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,568,973.15. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total transaction of $38,317.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,324,389.28. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 1,052 shares of company stock worth $201,235 over the last ninety days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by 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.