Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $205.98 and last traded at $204.7940, with a volume of 113,926 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $198.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on BDX. Weiss Ratings raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $195.00 target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen increased their price objective 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. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.07.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 4.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $57.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.22. 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 $186.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.20.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 2,438 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 14,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,686,559.04. The trade was a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 4,152 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total value of $768,120.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,163 shares in the company, valued at $20,380,155. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 6,907 shares of company stock worth $1,269,128 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter valued at $3,721,533,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the second quarter valued at about $474,993,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.8% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 13,815,335 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,090,675,000 after buying an additional 1,887,224 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $247,372,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the second quarter worth about $204,226,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

Becton, Dickinson and Company, commonly known as BD, is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells a broad range of products used by healthcare providers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical companies and patients. Its offerings support medication delivery, diagnostics, infection prevention, surgical care and other clinical procedures.

BD’s products include needles, syringes, injection devices, intravenous administration systems, medication-management technologies, specimen-collection products, diagnostic systems and laboratory instruments.