Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $193.23 and last traded at $192.20, with a volume of 150,579 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $188.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on BDX. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Barclays started coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.07.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.23. The company has a market capitalization of $53.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 0.21.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 4.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.68 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.620-12.720 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th were issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 126.51%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 2,438 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.84, for a total value of $440,887.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,686,559.04. The trade was a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Feld sold 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.49, for a total transaction of $31,100.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,717,022.80. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,906 shares of company stock valued at $1,265,855. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the second quarter valued at about $3,721,533,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,000,064 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,269,960,000 after buying an additional 1,177,256 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 13,815,335 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,090,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,887,224 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22,225.2% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 40,711,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $790,079,000 after acquiring an additional 40,528,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter worth about $474,993,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company, doing business as BD, is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells devices, diagnostic products and solutions for healthcare providers, researchers and patients. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, the company serves customers in hospitals, laboratories, physician offices, pharmacies and other healthcare settings worldwide.

BD’s Medical segment offers products used for medication delivery and management, including needles, syringes, infusion systems, medication preparation and dispensing technologies, and systems designed to help improve medication safety.