Analysts Set Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) PT at $231.44

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $231.44.

Several research firms have weighed in on BDX. Bank of America downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,878 shares of company stock worth $636,393. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $735,523,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,751,187,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219,317 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter worth approximately $689,833,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 392.4% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,416,665 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $775,139,000 after purchasing an additional 2,722,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,002,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,414,322,000 after buying an additional 1,259,750 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $175.37 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $251.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $50.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $203.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.80.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 79.39%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products for healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and the general public worldwide. The company operates in three segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional.