Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stock Rating Lowered by Bank of America

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) was downgraded by analysts at Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $190.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 12.69% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. William Blair downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $235.88.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $168.61 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $166.11 and a 12-month high of $251.99. The firm has a market cap of $48.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $214.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total transaction of $94,497.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total transaction of $436,325.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,666,808.01. The trade was a 20.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,578 shares of company stock valued at $795,986 over the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,067,196,000 after buying an additional 184,288 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.8% during the 1st 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 grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% during the 4th 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 increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 1,057,879 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

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.