KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Boosts Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 61.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 172,580 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,500 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $33,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the 4th 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. lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 71.4% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 82,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $15,471,000 after acquiring an additional 34,437 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 88.2% during the 3rd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,794 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 2,715 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter valued at about $650,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 49.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 225,967 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $42,294,000 after acquiring an additional 74,795 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 1,103 shares of company stock valued at $202,870 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus lowered their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $230.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. TD Cowen lifted 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 report on Wednesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.08.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $155.87 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.38 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.29. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $127.59 and a 52-week high of $187.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.64.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 company earned $3.43 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 repurchase up to 0% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

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

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.