North Dakota State Investment Board Takes $1.90 Million Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 9,809 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,904,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 71.4% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 82,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,471,000 after buying an additional 34,437 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 88.2% during the third quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,794 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,084,000 after buying an additional 2,715 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth approximately $650,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 49.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 225,967 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $42,294,000 after buying an additional 74,795 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $142.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $39.23 billion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 0.22. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $127.59 and a 12 month high of $187.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $154.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.98.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.35 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.520-12.720 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 106.33%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 0% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $180.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $167.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.86.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the 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. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,102 shares of company stock valued at $198,909. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

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.