Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $282.38.

Several research firms recently issued reports on BDX. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $282.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Monday, October 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $284.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $304.00 to $269.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 10th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, Director Claire Fraser sold 848 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.66, for a total value of $238,847.68. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,086,109.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.48, for a total value of $125,986.32. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,444 shares in the company, valued at $945,309.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Claire Fraser sold 848 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.66, for a total value of $238,847.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,086,109.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98,105.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 6,929,375 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,829,424,000 after acquiring an additional 6,922,319 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 25,185.5% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,492,216 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $18,147,000 after purchasing an additional 4,474,450 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 95,813.8% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,045,643 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,028,807,000 after acquiring an additional 4,041,425 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $697,398,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1,353.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,680,292 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $31,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564,723 shares in the last quarter. 86.72% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $235.07 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.82 and a 1-year high of $287.32. The company has a market cap of $68.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.39, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $260.83.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $3.42. The company had revenue of $5.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.02 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 13.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.75 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 8th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 76.61%.

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's BD Medical segment provides peripheral intravenous (IV) and advanced peripheral catheters, central lines, acute dialysis catheters, vascular care and preparation products, needle-free IV connectors and extensions sets, closed-system drug transfer devices, hazardous drug detections, hypodermic syringes and needles, anesthesia needles and trays, enteral syringes, and sharps disposal systems; IV medication and infusion therapy delivery systems, medication compounding workflow systems, automated medication dispensing and supply management systems, and medication inventory optimization and tracking systems; syringes, pen needles, and other products for diabetes; and prefillable drug delivery systems.