Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Coverage Initiated at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group initiated coverage of Becton, Dickinson and Company with a “buy” rating. The broader analyst consensus remains “hold,” with a consensus price target of $180.29.
• BDX shares opened at $158.94 and were reported up 1.7%. The company recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.90 in adjusted earnings per share versus a $2.77 estimate and $4.71 billion in revenue.
• Institutional investors own 86.97% of BDX. Company insiders sold 5,114 shares worth approximately $753,877 over the past three months, including transactions by the CEO and an executive vice president under pre-arranged trading plans.

Equities researchers at UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating on the medical instruments supplier's stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on BDX. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $175.00 price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $180.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of BDX stock opened at $158.94 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $43.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.24, a PEG ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.21. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $127.59 and a 52-week high of $187.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.67 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 5.33%.The company's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.35 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.520-12.720 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,764 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.35, for a total value of $404,511.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,163 shares in the company, valued at $16,122,355.05. This trade represents a 2.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.66, for a total value of $160,226.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,918,633.52. This represents a 7.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 5,114 shares of company stock worth $753,877 in the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crux Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Crux Wealth Advisors now owns 6,297 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,222,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC now owns 3,545 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 6,108 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.