Brokerages Set Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Target Price at $280.00

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $281.40.

Separately, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $237.14 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $229.40 and a 1 year high of $287.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $238.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 6.76%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total value of $399,269.15. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,715 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total value of $399,269.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $761,798,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 277.3% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,936,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $478,295,000 after buying an additional 1,423,353 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 242.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,783,769 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $461,158,000 after buying an additional 1,263,391 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,927,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,703,041,000 after acquiring an additional 516,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,192,832 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,342,503,000 after acquiring an additional 512,566 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.