Becton, Dickinson and Company Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:BDX)

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 66,192 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,734% compared to the typical volume of 3,609 put options.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:BDX opened at $174.31 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.25. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $163.33 and a 12-month high of $251.99.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 79.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BDX. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. William Blair downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $219.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $199,607.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $783,194.25. The trade was a 20.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,104 shares of company stock worth $399,675 in the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BDX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,623 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,503,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 85.9% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,628 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,319,000 after buying an additional 6,759 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 538 shares during the period. Finally, Portfolio Design Labs LLC boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 59.4% in the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 1,640 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the period. 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.