Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on BDX. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $224.17 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $218.75 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.83. The company has a market cap of $64.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.24, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 69.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $159,593.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,544 shares of company stock valued at $2,370,309 in the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,288 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,437,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 62.0% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 42,013 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $10,129,000 after acquiring an additional 16,074 shares during the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.2% in the third quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 2,855 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $222,000. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at $232,000. 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.