Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $211.4444.

BDX has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective (up from $185.00) on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $187.23 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $53.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $186.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.26. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.50 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.300-14.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.82%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,185 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Claire Fraser sold 917 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.50, for a total value of $171,937.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,226 shares in the company, valued at $4,167,375. This represents a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,965 shares of company stock valued at $551,536. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,308,749 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,565,182,000 after purchasing an additional 4,305,947 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,575,351 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,880,510,000 after purchasing an additional 448,644 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 59.2% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,786,190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,513,421,000 after acquiring an additional 3,268,478 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 24.4% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,514,446 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,466,613,000 after acquiring an additional 1,670,590 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,723,702 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,153,157,000 after acquiring an additional 244,199 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.