Vest Financial LLC Increases Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 298,601 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,599 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $55,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 256.8% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 132 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 474.1% in the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 85.6% in the second quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.5% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 219 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $207.64.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $334,010.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,509,228.70. This trade represents a 11.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $38,317.86. Following the sale, the director directly owned 35,816 shares in the company, valued at $6,324,389.28. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,662 shares of company stock worth $535,246. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.8%

BDX stock opened at $203.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.92 billion, a PE ratio of 34.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.23. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $162.29 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $196.68 and a 200 day moving average of $189.89.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 16.42%. The business had revenue of $5.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.750-15.050 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th were issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.04%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.