Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $219.22.

A number of research firms have issued reports on BDX. William Blair cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $177.05. The company had a trading volume of 3,277,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,050,289. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $175.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.71. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $163.33 and a fifty-two week high of $251.99. The firm has a market cap of $50.74 billion, a PE ratio of 33.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 15.99%. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th were given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is 79.39%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at $964,107.36. This represents a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $783,194.25. This trade represents a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 335 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $733,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,967 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,127,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 43.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 44,288 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $10,048,000 after buying an additional 13,387 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.