BofA Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stock Price

Key Points

• BofA cut its price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $177 to $170, implying about 15.95% upside from the prior close. The move reflects a more cautious outlook on the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but still cautious overall: the stock has seven Buy ratings, eight Hold ratings, and one Sell rating, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $182.73.
• BDX posted solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while management also guided FY2026 EPS at 12.520–12.720. Even so, the stock was trading down and insiders recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by stock analysts at BofA from $177.00 to $170.00 in a research report issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. BofA's price target indicates a potential upside of 15.95% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $175.00 price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Zacks Research raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $182.73.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE BDX opened at $146.62 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $127.59 and a 12 month high of $187.35. The company's 50-day moving average price is $150.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.25. The stock has a market cap of $40.40 billion, a PE ratio of 37.46, a PEG ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.13. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 5.33%.The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.35 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.520-12.720 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.48, for a total transaction of $166,628.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,272 shares in the company, valued at $2,161,922.56. This represents a 7.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,764 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,163 shares in the company, valued at $16,122,355.05. This represents a 2.45% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,013 shares of company stock worth $593,434. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22,225.2% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 40,711,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $790,079,000 after buying an additional 40,528,680 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,678,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $7,118,282,000 after acquiring an additional 4,223,149 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,989,132 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,714,871,000 after acquiring an additional 116,737 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 11,646,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,260,139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,486,694 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,841,083,000 after acquiring an additional 336,110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

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.

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