Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Has $6.14 Million Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC trimmed its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 48.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,650 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 32,872 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $6,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter valued at $689,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,002,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,414,322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259,750 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth $211,097,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 29,654.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 744,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $170,523,000 after acquiring an additional 741,943 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,843,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,567,654,000 after purchasing an additional 667,957 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total transaction of $171,937.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,226 shares in the company, valued at $4,167,375. This trade represents a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.29, for a total value of $213,643.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $881,077.23. This represents a 19.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,965 shares of company stock worth $551,536. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $186.25 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $186.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $53.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.27.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $5.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.50 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.50 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.300-14.450 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 74.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on BDX. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target (up from $185.00) on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products for healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and the general public worldwide. The company operates in three segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional.