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

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $219.22.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,598,960. This trade represents a 6.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $199,607.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders sold a total of 4,044 shares of company stock valued at $836,000 in the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $173.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.72 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $186.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.84. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $163.33 and a one year high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is 79.39%.

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.

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