Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 709,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $107,392,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.26% of Becton, Dickinson and Company at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22,225.2% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 40,711,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $790,079,000 after purchasing an additional 40,528,680 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 worth $7,118,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,223,149 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in 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 worth $2,714,871,000 after purchasing an additional 116,737 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $2,260,139,000 after buying an additional 1,651,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,885,361 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,331,165,000 after buying an additional 53,884 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was 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 $1,918,633.52. The trade was a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 2,438 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were 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 directly owned 14,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,686,559.04. This trade represents a 14.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 11,779 shares of company stock valued at $1,974,669 over the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on BDX shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Evercore set a $180.00 price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.67.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $181.17 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $159.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.12. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $127.59 and a 12-month high of $187.35. The stock has a market cap of $49.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.57, a PEG ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.19.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 14.79%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.68 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.620-12.720 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.51%.

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.