Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 601,229 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,602 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $112,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 285.3% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 131 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 256.8% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 132 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 474.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 463.3% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 169 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth $32,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $197.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $184.00 to $157.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $172.00 price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.46.

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $334,010.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $2,509,228.70. The trade was a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 36,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,713,291.43. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,416 shares of company stock valued at $675,557. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $176.49 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $196.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.20. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $127.59 and a fifty-two week high of $187.35. The company has a market cap of $50.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.79, a P/E/G ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.10. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 8.01%.The company had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.43 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 68.52%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 27th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 0% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.