World Investment Advisors Purchases 4,984 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

World Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 24.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,141 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,984 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $4,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 285.3% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 131 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth $25,000. Steph & Co. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 95.6% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 sale, the director owned 36,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,713,291.43. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,102 shares of company stock valued at $198,909. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lowered 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. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $175.00 price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $170.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Argus lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $230.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $184.86.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $144.50 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $127.59 and a 52-week high of $187.35. The company has a market capitalization of $39.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $4.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 0% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors 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 yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 106.33%.

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.