Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Sells 6,058 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 74.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,034 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,058 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 256.8% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 132 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 474.1% during the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 463.3% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 169 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 77.8% in the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 160 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on BDX shares. 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 report on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Zacks Research lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $184.00 to $157.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $172.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $174,027.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 36,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,713,291.43. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $334,010.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,509,228.70. The trade was a 11.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 3,416 shares of company stock valued at $674,693 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $159.37 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $127.59 and a 12 month high of $187.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.00, a P/E/G ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.24. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.28.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.52%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 buy up to 0% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors 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.