Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX Shares Sold by Avity Investment Management Inc.

Avity Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 9.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 170,464 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 18,213 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company comprises approximately 1.6% of Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $25,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22,225.2% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 40,711,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $790,079,000 after acquiring an additional 40,528,680 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,678,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,118,282,000 after acquiring an additional 4,223,149 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,989,132 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,714,871,000 after acquiring an additional 116,737 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 11,646,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,260,139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,486,694 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,841,083,000 after purchasing an additional 336,110 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Becton, Dickinson and Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results beat estimates. Fiscal Q3 revenue rose 5.4% year over year to approximately $5.0 billion, exceeding the $4.89 billion consensus estimate. Adjusted EPS of $3.23 also surpassed expectations of $3.14, with growth across BD’s core medical and interventional businesses. BD Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: BD raised its fiscal 2026 outlook. The company now expects adjusted EPS of $12.62 to $12.72, above the prior outlook and the roughly $12.56 analyst consensus. Management also expects revenue growth toward the high end of its range and is targeting 90% free-cash-flow conversion. Year-to-date operating cash flow increased 33.3% to $2.1 billion, while free cash flow rose 44.6% to $1.7 billion. BD raises FY 2026 adjusted EPS guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup became more bullish. Citi raised its price target from $198 to $204 and assigned a “buy” rating, implying meaningful upside based on the cited reference price.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain divided. Piper Sandler lifted its target to $175 but maintained a “neutral” rating, while Wells Fargo raised its target to $170 and kept an “equal weight” rating. Both targets remain below the cited share price, limiting the positive impact of the revisions.
• Negative Sentiment: Margins and earnings comparisons are concerns. Although revenue and adjusted earnings beat forecasts, margins declined and adjusted EPS fell from $3.68 in the year-earlier quarter. The stock’s elevated valuation may also make investors more sensitive to profitability pressure.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,764 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total transaction of $404,511.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,163 shares in the company, valued at $16,122,355.05. The trade was a 2.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.66, for a total transaction of $160,226.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,918,633.52. This represents a 7.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 5,189 shares of company stock worth $765,661 in the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX opened at $176.53 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $127.59 and a twelve month high of $187.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.64 billion, a PE ratio of 53.17, a PEG ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $154.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $162.51.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 14.84%. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.68 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.620-12.720 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on BDX. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore set a $180.00 target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $185.00.

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.