Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) has been assigned an average rating of “Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $283.00.

A number of equities analysts have commented on BDX shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $227.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $66.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $251.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $231.79 and its 200 day moving average is $234.09.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at $5,380,488.45. The trade was a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,364,096,000 after buying an additional 106,616 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,510,050,000 after buying an additional 111,101 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after buying an additional 460,440 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,053,416 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $692,729,000 after buying an additional 66,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $647,082,000 after buying an additional 673,568 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

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.