Hikari Tsushin Inc. Invests $1.19 Million in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Hikari Tsushin Inc. bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 6,107 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,185,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9,056.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,232,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $979,290,000 after buying an additional 5,174,944 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,678,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,118,282,000 after acquiring an additional 4,223,149 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 23,219.2% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,155,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $769,397,000 after acquiring an additional 4,137,888 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $734,321,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 11,646,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,260,139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,592 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BDX shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $170.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $183.64.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $147.40 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $150.21 and its 200 day moving average is $174.25. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $127.59 and a 12 month high of $187.35. The company has a market capitalization of $40.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.32, a P/E/G ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 9th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 106.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,764 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $404,511.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,122,355.05. This trade represents a 2.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.48, for a total transaction of $166,628.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,161,922.56. This trade represents a 7.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 4,013 shares of company stock valued at $593,434 in the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and 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.