Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Makes New $1.25 Million Investment in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,459 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,253,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,455,790 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,074,750,000 after acquiring an additional 147,041 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,872,395 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,596,496,000 after acquiring an additional 459,219 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 9,994,408 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,870,653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208,218 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,150,584 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,712,715,000 after purchasing an additional 636,138 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9,056.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,232,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $979,290,000 after purchasing an additional 5,174,944 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX opened at $156.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.42 billion, a PE ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.24. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $127.59 and a twelve month high of $187.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $184.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.10. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 15.76%. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.43 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.52%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 27th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 0% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on BDX. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $172.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $184.00 to $157.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,713,291.43. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,509,228.70. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,787 shares of company stock worth $551,391. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.