Morgan Stanley Lowers Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Price Target to $196.00

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

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $192.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $231.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX stock traded up $1.95 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $169.90. 383,655 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,844,006. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $163.33 and a 1-year high of $251.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.78 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are 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 dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is 79.39%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, Director Jeffrey William Henderson bought 1,500 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $233.62 per share, with a total value of $350,430.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,015 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,872,464.30. This represents a 23.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $159,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,215,163.67. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,578 shares of company stock worth $795,986 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

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.