StockNews.com Downgrades Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BDX. Bank of America cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $235.88.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $168.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $166.11 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $214.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.70. The company has a market capitalization of $48.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $159,593.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 36,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,215,163.67. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total transaction of $436,325.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,666,808.01. This represents a 20.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,578 shares of company stock valued at $795,986 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BDX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 176,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,951,000 after acquiring an additional 20,859 shares in the last quarter. Busey Bank raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Busey Bank now owns 66,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399 shares during the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,382,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $647,082,000 after purchasing an additional 673,568 shares in the last quarter. 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.