Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $18.07 Million Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,879 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,654 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $18,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,308,749 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,565,182,000 after purchasing an additional 4,305,947 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter worth about $653,377,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 59.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,786,190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,513,421,000 after acquiring an additional 3,268,478 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,514,446 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,466,613,000 after acquiring an additional 1,670,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16,974.4% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,579,386 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $272,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570,136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BDX. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $197.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $207.64.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,509,228.70. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $38,317.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,324,389.28. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,662 shares of company stock valued at $535,246. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of BDX stock opened at $205.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.23. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $162.29 and a 1 year high of $251.99. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $197.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

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

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.