Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stock

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $197.00 in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 0.45% from the company’s current price.

BDX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Raymond James Financial lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. William Blair downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $196.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,669,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,680,373. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $176.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $198.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $163.33 and a 52 week high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.21 billion, a PE ratio of 35.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.28. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 16.23% and a net margin of 7.51%. The company had revenue of $5.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $199,607.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $783,194.25. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.29, for a total value of $213,643.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $881,077.23. This trade represents a 19.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,214 shares of company stock worth $579,206. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 341.4% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

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.