Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Acquires 8,561 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 222,786 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,561 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.08% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $41,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,262 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. CX Institutional grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,671 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.7% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,987 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BDX shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $197.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $207.64.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $206.04 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.00. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $162.29 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The company has a market capitalization of $58.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 16.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.81 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.750-15.050 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th were paid a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 8th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 72.04%.

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $334,010.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $2,509,228.70. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $38,317.86. Following the transaction, the director owned 35,816 shares in the company, valued at $6,324,389.28. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 2,662 shares of company stock valued at $535,246 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

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.