BDX recently completed the separation of its Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions business, which is now combined with an existing publicly traded company, Waters Corporation [WAT]. For every share of BDX held at the close of business on 2026-02-05, shareholders received .135 shares of WAT and cash in lieu of partial shares after market close on 2026-02-09. The Royal Dividends portfolio received 2 shares and $83.06 in cash. Using a market order those two shares were sold for $328.0729 per share. The $739.21 in total proceeds will be treated as dividend income received from BDX for performance purposes.
Royal Dividends elected to sell the WAT shares because the company does not meet the criteria for inclusion in the Portfolio for the Ages. Waters is an established business that does not pay a dividend, let alone maintain a multi‑decade record of dividend increases. Even if WAT were to initiate and grow a dividend, the extremely small position size would create a portfolio imbalance—making it the only position eligible for incremental investment for several months while still never ranking in the weekly Top Ten.1.
That said, there is nothing inherently wrong with continuing to hold WAT if you believe in its long‑term growth prospects, particularly following its acquisition of BDX’s Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions segment.
Neither of the two press releases announcing the transaction made any reference to BDX’s dividend. However, BDX’s share price showed no meaningful movement after the close on February 5 or on the following trading day. Based on this, the company’s 54‑year dividend‑increase streak appears intact, though only time will confirm whether BDX continues to thrive and extend its record of annual dividend growth.
- A direct consequence of not even being in the Royal Dividends Empire due to the absence of a 50-year (or comparable) dividend-increase streak. ↩︎