Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) CEO Thomas Polen, Jr. Sells 2,764 Shares of Stock

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) CEO Thomas Polen, Jr. sold 2,764 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $404,511.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,122,355.05. This represents a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $145.52 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $40.10 billion, a PE ratio of 36.84, a P/E/G ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 0.22. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.01. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $127.59 and a twelve month high of $187.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.67 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 5.33% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.35 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.520-12.720 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BDX shares. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $170.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Argus lowered their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $230.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $183.64.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22,225.2% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 40,711,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $790,079,000 after buying an additional 40,528,680 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9,056.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,232,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $979,290,000 after buying an additional 5,174,944 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,678,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,118,282,000 after buying an additional 4,223,149 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 23,219.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,155,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $769,397,000 after buying an additional 4,137,888 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $734,321,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.