Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Receives $231.44 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $231.44.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BDX. Piper Sandler downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Barclays reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, William Blair lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $964,107.36. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,598,960. This represents a 6.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,878 shares of company stock worth $636,393 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,002,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,414,322,000 after buying an additional 1,259,750 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,575,351 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,880,510,000 after buying an additional 448,644 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.8% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,843,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,567,654,000 after buying an additional 667,957 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,437,161,000 after buying an additional 66,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,004,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057,879 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE BDX opened at $177.06 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $50.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $163.33 and a one year high of $251.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $202.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $220.31.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.39%.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.