Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Raises Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 9.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,930 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,633 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $20,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22,225.2% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 40,711,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $790,079,000 after purchasing an additional 40,528,680 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9,056.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,232,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $979,290,000 after purchasing an additional 5,174,944 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.0% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 23,219.2% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,155,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $769,397,000 after buying an additional 4,137,888 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $734,321,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE BDX opened at $156.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.56, a P/E/G ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.21. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $127.59 and a 52-week high of $187.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $149.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.13. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 5.33% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.520-12.720 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.62 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th were paid a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 106.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,764 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $404,511.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,122,355.05. This represents a 2.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.66, for a total value of $160,226.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,918,633.52. The trade was a 7.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,188 shares of company stock worth $765,120. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $177.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $180.29.

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.