Evercore ISI Cuts Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Price Target to $285.00

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) had its price objective lowered by Evercore ISI from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on BDX. Barclays lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a buy rating and a $274.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $280.86.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.2 %

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $228.84 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.41, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $224.00 and a 1-year high of $287.32. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $234.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $237.64.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 6.76%. The firm had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.86 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total transaction of $781,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,713.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total value of $781,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at $3,457,713.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total value of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,381 shares in the company, valued at $1,252,750.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,615 shares of company stock worth $2,033,381. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,369,681,000 after buying an additional 195,931 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,200,213 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,637,062,000 after buying an additional 435,168 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.4% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,065,443 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,005,994,000 after buying an additional 172,005 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,154,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $769,147,000 after buying an additional 19,200 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $761,798,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.