Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Buys 45,699 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 951,456 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 45,699 shares during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company accounts for approximately 1.0% of Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $184,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 5,174,944 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter valued at about $653,377,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 9,994,408 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,870,653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208,218 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the second quarter valued at about $150,051,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 40.6% in the third quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 2,954,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $553,068,000 after purchasing an additional 852,854 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BDX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $197.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (down from $205.00) on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 36,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,713,291.43. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $334,010.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,509,228.70. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,713 shares of company stock valued at $536,881. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE BDX opened at $157.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $127.59 and a 52 week high of $187.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $181.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.89.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 68.52%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 27th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 0% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.