Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Price Target Raised to $195.00

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) had its price objective raised by Barclays from $165.00 to $195.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on BDX. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $197.47.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.6%

BDX stock opened at $215.72 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.11 and a fifty-two week high of $216.85. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $190.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $59.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.07 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.11 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.90% and a net margin of 5.66%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 5th that authorizes the company to buy back 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 10th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael Feld sold 165 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.49, for a total value of $31,100.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,717,022.80. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 2,993 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $628,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,134,230. This represents a 2.65% decrease in their position. 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 three months, insiders sold 3,310 shares of company stock worth $688,650. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13,900.0% in the third quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 140 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 152.2% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 169 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Group LTD bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company, commonly known as BD, is a global medical technology company that develops and manufactures products used in healthcare, clinical laboratories and life sciences research. Founded in 1897, the company has a long history of producing medical devices and supplies. BD’s products include syringes, needles, infusion systems and medication-management technologies, as well as equipment and supplies for collecting and processing clinical specimens. The company also provides diagnostic systems, laboratory instruments and tools used in areas such as cell analysis and biomedical research.