Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Strong Earnings

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. 1,802,965 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the previous session’s volume of 1,785,142 shares.The stock last traded at $167.24 and had previously closed at $169.54.

The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. William Blair lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $235.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total transaction of $436,325.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,666,808.01. This represents a 20.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,578 shares of company stock worth $795,986 over the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,067,196,000 after acquiring an additional 184,288 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,751,187,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219,317 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew 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 acquiring an additional 667,957 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,437,161,000 after acquiring an additional 66,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 1,057,879 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $48.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $214.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.70.

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.