Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell 17.2% in March to 9,492,557 shares (about 3.3% of float), leaving a days-to-cover ratio of roughly 4.2 days.
• Analysts are mixed: six rate BDX a Buy and eleven a Hold, giving a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $189.92.
• Becton, Dickinson reported quarterly EPS of $2.91 (beating estimates) but missed on revenue ($4.49B vs. $5.15B expected), set FY2026 guidance of 12.35–12.65 EPS versus an analyst average of 14.43, and its shares traded around $154.89 (down ~0.4%).

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 9,492,557 shares, a decrease of 17.2% from the March 15th total of 11,469,470 shares. Approximately 3.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,279,841 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on BDX. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $184.00 to $157.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Argus decreased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $230.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $189.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $174,027.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 36,763 shares in the company, valued at $6,713,291.43. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,103 shares of company stock worth $202,870 in the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 71.4% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 82,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $15,471,000 after purchasing an additional 34,437 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 88.2% in the third quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,794 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,084,000 after purchasing an additional 2,715 shares during the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $650,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,455,790 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $6,074,750,000 after purchasing an additional 147,041 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:BDX traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $154.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,071,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,261,320. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $166.92 and a 200-day moving average of $184.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.27, a PEG ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $127.59 and a 12-month high of $187.35.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 27th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 0% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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