Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 3,214 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 317,701 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,214 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $49,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 20.4% during the 1st 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. United Bank raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 23.9% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 5,149 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $887,000 after buying an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 365.1% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 31,876 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,491,000 after buying an additional 25,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 34.7% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,501 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,048,000 after buying an additional 6,058 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $158.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $43.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 0.21. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $148.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $127.59 and a 52 week high of $187.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.35 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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. On average, analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 106.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $175.00 price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $170.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $180.29.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.66, for a total value of $160,226.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,918,633.52. This trade represents a 7.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,764 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 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 quarter, insiders have sold 5,188 shares of company stock valued at $765,120. Corporate insiders own 0.40% 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.