Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

A number of other analysts have also commented on BDX. Piper Sandler lifted their target price 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 lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock opened at $224.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $233.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.11. 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 $64.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.28, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued 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 1.85%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $735,523,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $2,751,187,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219,317 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 392.4% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,416,665 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $775,139,000 after buying an additional 2,722,829 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after buying an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,004,132,000 after buying an additional 1,057,879 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.