Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stock Price

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $280.00 to $196.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the medical instruments supplier's stock.

BDX has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $192.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $231.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of BDX traded down $0.73 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $167.22. The stock had a trading volume of 4,133,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,857,499. The firm has a market cap of $47.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.03. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $251.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is 79.39%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson bought 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $233.62 per share, with a total value of $350,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,872,464.30. This trade represents a 23.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,578 shares of company stock worth $795,986. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,002,802 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $6,414,322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,750 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,751,187,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219,317 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,843,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,567,654,000 after buying an additional 667,957 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,437,161,000 after buying an additional 66,024 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,004,132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057,879 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.