Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 9,492,557 shares, a decline of 17.2% from the March 15th total of 11,469,470 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,279,841 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $154.89. The company had a trading volume of 4,071,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,261,320. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $127.59 and a 1-year high of $187.35. The firm has a market cap of $44.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.29. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $166.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.56. 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 8.01%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.43 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.52%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 0% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the company’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 value of $174,027.33. Following the sale, the director owned 36,763 shares in the company, valued at $6,713,291.43. This represents a 2.53% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,103 shares of company stock worth $202,870. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22,225.2% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 40,711,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $790,079,000 after buying an additional 40,528,680 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,678,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,118,282,000 after buying an additional 4,223,149 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,989,132 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,714,871,000 after buying an additional 116,737 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 11,646,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,260,139,000 after buying an additional 1,651,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,486,694 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,841,083,000 after buying an additional 336,110 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $189.92.

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.