Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 74.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,109 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,023 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% during the second quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,844 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Mendel Money Management grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 2,254 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 2,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,731 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.9% in the third quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 3,346 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $185.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $52.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.23 and a beta of 0.25. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $127.59 and a twelve month high of $185.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.24.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.10. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 15.76%. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 27th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 0% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president owned 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $2,509,228.70. The trade was a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $174,027.33. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 36,763 shares in the company, valued at $6,713,291.43. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 3,416 shares of company stock valued at $675,557 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $184.00 to $157.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.46.

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.