Wealthfront Advisers LLC Purchases New Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 16,962 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,567,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 40,528,680 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,678,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,118,282,000 after buying an additional 4,223,149 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter valued at about $3,721,533,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,989,132 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,714,871,000 after buying an additional 116,737 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 11,646,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,260,139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651,592 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $187.79 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $160.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.91. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $127.59 and a 52-week high of $190.01. The company has a market capitalization of $51.74 billion, a PE ratio of 56.56, a P/E/G ratio of 13.22 and a beta of 0.19. 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 (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.68 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.620-12.720 EPS. Analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 126.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $195.00 target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $185.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $160,226.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,918,633.52. This represents a 7.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 2,438 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.84, for a total value of $440,887.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,686,559.04. This trade represents a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,779 shares of company stock worth $1,974,669. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.