HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 20.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 101,298 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 26,682 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $15,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 152.2% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 169 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 2,438 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.84, for a total transaction of $440,887.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,856 shares in the company, valued at $2,686,559.04. This trade represents a 14.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Garrison sold 1,100 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,918,633.52. This represents a 7.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,005 shares of company stock valued at $1,423,580. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $195.00 price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore set a $180.00 target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $187.67.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $179.92 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $171.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.59. The company has a market capitalization of $49.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.19, a P/E/G ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.87. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $127.59 and a fifty-two week high of $193.07.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 4.52%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.68 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.620-12.720 EPS. Research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 126.51%.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

Becton, Dickinson and Company, commonly known as BD, is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells products used by healthcare providers, researchers and pharmaceutical companies. Founded in 1897 by Maxwell Becton and Fairleigh Dickinson, the company is headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.

BD’s products support medication delivery, infection prevention, diagnostics and surgical care. Its portfolio includes needles, syringes, injection devices, infusion products, medication-management systems, specimen-collection products, laboratory instruments and diagnostic technologies.