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

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $283.50.

Several brokerages have weighed in on BDX. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX opened at $235.88 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $226.92 and a 200 day moving average of $232.50. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $248.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $68.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.71, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 70.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total transaction of $633,810.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,371,469.53. This represents a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,747 shares of company stock worth $1,949,520 in the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $720,089,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. Centre Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,382,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 561,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $135,267,000 after purchasing an additional 12,845 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 673,568 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.