American Century Companies Inc. Sells 162,854 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,253,599 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 162,854 shares during the period. Becton, Dickinson and Company accounts for approximately 0.3% of American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. American Century Companies Inc. owned 1.14% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $608,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Argent Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 11,913 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 3,114 shares in the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 2,234 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 77.8% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 160 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Generali Investments Management Co LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.8% during the third quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 2,030 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.1% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,069 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,260,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $334,010.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,509,228.70. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $174,027.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,491 shares of company stock worth $689,195. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup cut their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $184.00 to $157.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price target (down from $205.00) on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.46.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.4%

BDX opened at $176.04 on Friday. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $50.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 0.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $195.68 and its 200 day moving average is $192.08.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 15.76%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 27th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 0% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.52%.

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.