Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Trading Down 1.1% – What’s Next?

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) traded down 1.1% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $224.34 and last traded at $225.15. 395,798 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 2,003,429 shares. The stock had previously closed at $227.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays upped their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $64.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.05.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total value of $159,593.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,215,163.67. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309 in the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,067,196,000 after purchasing an additional 184,288 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in 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 buying an additional 106,616 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% during 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 buying an additional 3,219,317 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% in 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 period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,401,126,000 after acquiring 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.