Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Raised to Buy at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $275.00 price objective on the medical instruments supplier’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $255.00.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on BDX. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $282.63.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $238.22 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $236.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $235.59. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $269.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.85 billion, a PE ratio of 52.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.