Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $152.30 Million Stock Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 813,690 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 53,139 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.28% of Becton, Dickinson and Company worth $152,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 73,216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $13,704,000 after buying an additional 17,753 shares in the last quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 21.4% in the third quarter. New England Asset Management Inc. now owns 36,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,861,000 after buying an additional 6,465 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 53.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,033,860 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $190,623,000 after acquiring an additional 361,642 shares during the last quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Credit Agricole S A bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth about $4,290,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:BDX opened at $160.19 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $127.59 and a one year high of $187.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $45.61 billion, a PE ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 0.24. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $189.75.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.10. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 15.76%. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.43 EPS. The 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 27th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 0% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 68.52%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value 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. The trade was a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 36,763 shares in the company, valued at $6,713,291.43. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 3,416 shares of company stock worth $674,693 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BDX has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $197.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.46.

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.