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

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $219.22.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BDX. Raymond James Financial downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $217.00 to $185.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.29, for a total transaction of $213,643.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $881,077.23. The trade was a 19.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $199,607.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $783,194.25. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 341.4% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX opened at $185.52 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $53.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.25. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $163.33 and a 12-month high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.99% and a net margin of 7.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

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.