Kanawha Capital Management LLC Has $13.30 Million Position in Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Kanawha Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,511 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 13,557 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $13,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 3,145 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 172,580 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $33,493,000 after purchasing an additional 65,500 shares in the last quarter. TABR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $3,814,000. Optas LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,844 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ticino Wealth acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $1,477,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $174,027.33. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 36,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,713,291.43. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,103 shares of company stock worth $202,870 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BDX. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $167.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target 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. Barclays began coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $202.00 price target for the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.08.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE BDX opened at $155.87 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $183.64. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $127.59 and a one year high of $187.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.43, a P/E/G ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.10. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 8.01%.The business had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.43 earnings per share. The firm’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. Research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 27th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 0% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.