Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Given New $202.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) had its target price lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $170.00 to $202.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.47.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $212.27 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $188.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $137.35 and a 12-month high of $214.88. The company has a market cap of $58.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.27, a P/E/G ratio of 14.26 and a beta of 0.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.07 by $0.08. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.90% and a net margin of 5.66%. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.96 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.51%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to buy up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael Feld sold 165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.49, for a total transaction of $31,100.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,720 shares in the company, valued at $3,717,022.80. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 2,438 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.84, for a total transaction of $440,887.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,856 shares in the company, valued at $2,686,559.04. This trade represents a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 6,907 shares of company stock valued at $1,269,128 over the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Pensioenfonds Rail & OV acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,157,000. IFG Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 10,942 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,959,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $216,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 3,671 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.6% in the 3rd quarter. BankPlus Trust Department now owns 11,730 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,100,000 after purchasing an additional 5,199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

Becton, Dickinson and Company, commonly known as BD, is a global medical technology company that develops and manufactures products used in healthcare, clinical laboratories and life sciences research. Founded in 1897, the company has a long history of producing medical devices and supplies.

BD’s products include syringes, needles, infusion systems and medication-management technologies, as well as equipment and supplies for collecting and processing clinical specimens. The company also provides diagnostic systems, laboratory instruments and tools used in areas such as cell analysis and biomedical research.

Its offerings serve hospitals, clinics, laboratories, researchers and pharmaceutical companies.