The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 81.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 254,652 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,116,528 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $38,536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 14,668.6% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 69,907,953 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $10,579,171,000 after buying an additional 69,434,598 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22,225.2% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 40,711,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $790,079,000 after acquiring an additional 40,528,680 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter worth about $3,721,533,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,989,132 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,714,871,000 after purchasing an additional 116,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 13,815,335 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,090,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,887,224 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 2,438 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.84, for a total transaction of $440,887.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,856 shares in the company, valued at $2,686,559.04. This represents a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Feld sold 165 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.49, for a total value of $31,100.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,717,022.80. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 8,005 shares of company stock valued at $1,423,580 over the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on BDX. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $195.00 price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $187.67.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:BDX opened at $177.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $49.00 billion, a PE ratio of 53.57, a P/E/G ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.21. The business’s 50 day moving average is $172.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $127.59 and a 52 week high of $193.07.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 4.52%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.68 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.620-12.720 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.67 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 126.51%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company, commonly known as BD, is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells products used by healthcare providers, researchers and pharmaceutical companies. Founded in 1897 by Maxwell Becton and Fairleigh Dickinson, the company is headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.

BD’s products support medication delivery, infection prevention, diagnostics and surgical care. Its portfolio includes needles, syringes, injection devices, infusion products, medication-management systems, specimen-collection products, laboratory instruments and diagnostic technologies.