Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of 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 boosted their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $228.76 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.68 billion, a PE ratio of 38.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $232.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.82.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given 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 1.82%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 597 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.51, for a total value of $141,196.47. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,544 shares in the company, valued at $1,311,211.44. This trade represents a 9.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson bought 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $233.62 per share, for a total transaction of $350,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,872,464.30. This trade represents a 23.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 4,984 shares of company stock worth $1,147,865 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

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

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.