Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 9,526 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 23.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 50,049 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,526 shares during the quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $10,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,812 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Natural Investments LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 1,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Cove Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Cove Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,818 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $547,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Friday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $167.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target 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. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $202.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $174,027.33. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 36,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,713,291.43. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $334,010.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $2,509,228.70. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,713 shares of company stock worth $536,881 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX opened at $155.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $44.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.40, a P/E/G ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $169.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.98. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $127.59 and a 1 year high of $187.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $4.49 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.43 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 27th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding 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 generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.