Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $251.99 and last traded at $249.15, with a volume of 961924 shares. The stock had previously closed at $247.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.0 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $230.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 33.8% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,426 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.9% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 58,880 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $14,196,000 after purchasing an additional 3,808 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.2% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.2% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 132,478 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $31,940,000 after purchasing an additional 2,821 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,168 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 285 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.