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

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $191.6154.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BDX. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Argus lowered their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $230.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $174,027.33. Following the sale, the director directly owned 36,763 shares in the company, valued at $6,713,291.43. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $334,010.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,509,228.70. The trade was a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,713 shares of company stock worth $536,881 in the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22,225.2% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 40,711,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $790,079,000 after purchasing an additional 40,528,680 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9,056.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,232,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $979,290,000 after buying an additional 5,174,944 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,678,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,118,282,000 after buying an additional 4,223,149 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 23,219.2% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,155,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $769,397,000 after buying an additional 4,137,888 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $734,321,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $154.52 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $127.59 and a 1 year high of $187.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $176.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.70. The firm has a market cap of $44.00 billion, a PE ratio of 25.21, a PEG ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.10. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 8.01%.The company had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 68.52%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 0% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells a broad range of medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. BD’s products are used by healthcare institutions, clinical laboratories, life science researchers and the pharmaceutical industry to enable safe, effective delivery of care, specimen collection and diagnostic testing. The company’s operations span multiple business areas focused on medical devices, life sciences research tools and interventional technologies.

BD’s product portfolio includes single-use medical devices such as syringes, needles, needlesafety and injection systems, infusion therapy and medication management solutions, as well as vascular access, urology and oncology devices acquired through its interventional business.