First Eagle Investment Management LLC Acquires 1,651,592 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,646,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,651,592 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company accounts for 4.0% of First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,260,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,678,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,118,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,223,149 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,872,395 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,596,496,000 after purchasing an additional 459,219 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,486,694 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,841,083,000 after purchasing an additional 336,110 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9,056.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 2,954,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $553,068,000 after purchasing an additional 852,854 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BDX shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $180.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $175.00 price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.86.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of BDX opened at $143.11 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $127.59 and a 52 week high of $187.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.23, a PEG ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 0.22. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $157.19 and a 200-day moving average of $180.46.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 5.33%.The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.35 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 106.33%.

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

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $174,027.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 36,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,713,291.43. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,102 shares of company stock valued at $198,909. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.