Royal Bank Of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stock Price

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its Becton, Dickinson price target to $225 from $190, while maintaining a sector-perform rating; the new target implies 5.74% upside from the share price cited in the report.
• BD reported quarterly EPS of $4.15 and revenue of $5.27 billion, topping analyst estimates; revenue increased 5.4% year over year.
• The company authorized repurchases of up to 10 million shares, about 3.6% of its stock, and raised its quarterly dividend 1% to $1.06.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $190.00 to $225.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "sector perform" rating on the medical instruments supplier's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price indicates a potential upside of 5.74% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $191.20.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of BDX stock traded down $0.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $212.78. 839,852 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,431,693. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $137.35 and a fifty-two week high of $214.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $58.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.10, a PEG ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.07 by $0.08. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 14.79%. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.96 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 4,152 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total value of $768,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,380,155. The trade was a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 2,438 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.84, for a total transaction of $440,887.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,856 shares in the company, valued at $2,686,559.04. This represents a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 6,907 shares of company stock worth $1,269,128 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13,900.0% during the third quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 140 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 152.2% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 169 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Becton, Dickinson and Company News

Here are the key news stories impacting Becton, Dickinson and Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BDX reported fiscal Q4 adjusted EPS of $4.15 and revenue of $5.27 billion, topping estimates; revenue grew 5.4% year over year. For fiscal 2026, free cash flow rose 42.5% to $2.9 billion. BD fiscal 2026 results
• Positive Sentiment: The board authorized repurchases of up to 10 million shares—about 3.6% of shares outstanding—and raised the quarterly dividend 1% to $1.06, marking the company’s 55th consecutive annual increase. Dividend and buyback announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI raised its price target to $230 from $210, signaling a more favorable view of BDX’s prospects. Evercore target change
• Neutral Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised its target from $175 to $200 but maintained a neutral rating; the new target is below the recent share price, reflecting a more cautious assessment. Piper Sandler rating
• Negative Sentiment: Despite beating Q4 estimates, BDX’s fiscal 2027 revenue outlook was described as subdued and slightly below expectations, raising concerns about growth and weighing on the shares after the results. Fiscal 2027 outlook report

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

Becton, Dickinson and Company, commonly known as BD, is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells a broad range of products used by healthcare providers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical companies and patients. Its offerings support medication delivery, diagnostics, infection prevention, surgical care and other clinical procedures.

BD's products include needles, syringes, injection devices, intravenous administration systems, medication-management technologies, specimen-collection products, diagnostic systems and laboratory instruments.

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