Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Trading Up 2.4% – What’s Next?

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) rose 2.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $235.00 and last traded at $233.88. Approximately 624,266 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 1,499,373 shares. The stock had previously closed at $228.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on BDX. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.71.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $185,180.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,235. The trade was a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $159,593.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 36,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,215,163.67. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,423 shares of company stock valued at $1,239,780 in the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,558 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $580,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $694,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Americana Partners LLC raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

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.