Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $283.00.

BDX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $224.00 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $218.75 and a twelve month high of $249.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $64.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.71, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $235.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $234.54.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.97%.

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.