Barclays Raises Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Price Target to $312.00

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) had its target price upped by Barclays from $305.00 to $312.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the medical instruments supplier's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX traded up $1.92 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $236.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,255,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,412,024. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $238.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $240.12. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $229.40 and a fifty-two week high of $287.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.11, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.45.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.20. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.76% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.86 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's dividend payout ratio is presently 83.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total value of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares in the company, valued at $1,252,750.61. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at $542,348.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $6,369,681,000 after buying an additional 195,931 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,200,213 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,637,062,000 after buying an additional 435,168 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,192,832 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,342,503,000 after buying an additional 512,566 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,065,443 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,005,994,000 after purchasing an additional 172,005 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.2% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,630,351 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $938,593,000 after purchasing an additional 304,629 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.