Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Citigroup

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) was upgraded by analysts at Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, FinViz reports. The brokerage presently has a $275.00 price objective on the medical instruments supplier’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $255.00. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 14.08% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective 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. Finally, 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.2 %

BDX stock opened at $241.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $69.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $269.52. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $236.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $235.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.