Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Receives $280.00 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $280.00.

Separately, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX opened at $234.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $67.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.45. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $229.40 and a 12 month high of $287.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $238.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.27.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 6.76%. The company had revenue of $5.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.86 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 83.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

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 transaction of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,252,750.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $67,197.78. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 148.0% in the first quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 248 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,547 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2,495.2% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 225,680 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $55,790,000 after buying an additional 216,984 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter worth $203,000. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 17.5% during the first quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 1,410 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.