Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Sells 4,100 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co reduced its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 62,321 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 4,100 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $11,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 20.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,827,000 after buying an additional 1,354 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $324,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 87.7% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 22,596 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,892,000 after acquiring an additional 10,560 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 43.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,441 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 2,562 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $334,010.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $2,509,228.70. This trade represents a 11.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,463 shares of company stock valued at $501,530. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

More Becton, Dickinson and Company News

Here are the key news stories impacting Becton, Dickinson and Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies initiated/issued a buy/recommendation on BDX, signaling conviction from at least one active analyst and supporting near-term demand for the shares. Becton Dickinson (BDX) Gets a Buy from Jefferies
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target to $189 (from $183) and kept a hold rating — a modest positive reaffirmation that implies upside from current levels. TD Cowen adjusts Becton Dickinson PT to $189
• Positive Sentiment: BDX completed its Biosciences & Diagnostics spin-off and merged that unit with Waters, securing about $4B in proceeds and repositioning BDX as a pure‑play MedTech company — this materially improves balance-sheet flexibility and focuses growth strategy. BD Merges Biosciences & Diagnostics Business With Waters
• Positive Sentiment: Company commentary and analysis (Q4 deep dive) indicate portfolio reshaping and targeted product investments have helped offset tariff headwinds — a constructive operational narrative for medium-term margins. BDX Q4 Deep Dive
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup revised its price target (reported as a lower target of $232) — still above current levels, so this is mixed: a cut in outlook from one bank but not a bearish absolute level. Citigroup Lowers BDX Price Target to $232
• Neutral Sentiment: Roundups and analyst-coverage pieces summarize a split street: several firms remain constructive while others are cautious, leaving consensus near-term guidance mixed. Are Wall Street Analysts Bullish on BDX?
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded BDX from Hold to Strong Sell — a sharp negative signal that can trigger selling by some momentum/quant funds and influences retail sentiment. Zacks downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan and Wells Fargo published pessimistic forecasts/comments on BDX, adding coordinated downside pressure from large institutional analysts. JPMorgan pessimistic forecast Wells Fargo pessimistic forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Market reports note shares gapped down on the analyst downgrade wave, reflecting immediate selling pressure following the negative analyst actions. BDX Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $177.93 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $127.59 and a fifty-two week high of $185.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.03, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.25. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $199.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 15.76%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.43 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 27th that allows the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 0% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 68.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BDX. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $197.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.46.

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.