Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Receives Consensus Rating of "Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Buy" by the seven research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $278.29.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $233.62 per share, with a total value of $350,430.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at $1,872,464.30. This represents a 23.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,984 shares of company stock worth $1,147,865. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $6,067,196,000 after purchasing an additional 184,288 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,364,096,000 after buying an additional 106,616 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,751,187,000 after buying an additional 3,219,317 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,437,161,000 after purchasing an additional 66,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,401,126,000 after acquiring an additional 810,345 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE:BDX traded up $0.76 on Monday, reaching $228.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,602,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,535,158. 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 company has a market capitalization of $65.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $251.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $232.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $231.85.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

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.