Hantz Financial Services Inc. Sells 7,304 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Hantz Financial Services Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 60,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 7,304 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $11,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 3,006 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Pathfinder Wealth Consulting Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $215,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $1,946,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,134 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,623 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $147.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.71 billion, a PE ratio of 37.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 0.22. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $127.59 and a 52-week high of $187.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.08.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.67 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 5.33% and a return on equity of 15.37%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.35 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.520-12.720 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 106.33%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 27th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 0% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $180.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.86.

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.