Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Receives $205.64 Average PT from Brokerages

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $205.6364.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $197.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a report on Monday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.03, for a total value of $123,302.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,105 shares in the company, valued at $2,568,973.15. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $38,317.86. Following the sale, the director owned 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,324,389.28. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 978 shares of company stock worth $186,725 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 256.8% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 132 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 285.3% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 131 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 474.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $196.23 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $162.29 and a 12-month high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $190.37 and a 200 day moving average of $186.19.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 16.42%. The business had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter. On average, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.04%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells a broad range of medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. BD’s products are used by healthcare institutions, clinical laboratories, life science researchers and the pharmaceutical industry to enable safe, effective delivery of care, specimen collection and diagnostic testing. The company’s operations span multiple business areas focused on medical devices, life sciences research tools and interventional technologies.

BD’s product portfolio includes single-use medical devices such as syringes, needles, needlesafety and injection systems, infusion therapy and medication management solutions, as well as vascular access, urology and oncology devices acquired through its interventional business.