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

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $207.6364.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BDX shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of BDX opened at $201.84 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $197.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $190.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.23. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $162.29 and a 1-year high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.91 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 16.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.81 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.750-15.050 EPS. Analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th were paid a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 8th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $334,010.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $2,509,228.70. The trade was a 11.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $38,317.86. Following the sale, the director directly owned 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,324,389.28. The trade was a 0.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 2,662 shares of company stock valued at $535,246 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,455,790 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,074,750,000 after purchasing an additional 147,041 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,872,395 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,596,496,000 after purchasing an additional 459,219 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.8% during the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 9,994,408 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,870,653,000 after buying an additional 1,208,218 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,486,694 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,841,083,000 after buying an additional 336,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,723,702 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,153,157,000 after buying an additional 244,199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells a broad range of medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. BD’s products are used by healthcare institutions, clinical laboratories, life science researchers and the pharmaceutical industry to enable safe, effective delivery of care, specimen collection and diagnostic testing. The company’s operations span multiple business areas focused on medical devices, life sciences research tools and interventional technologies.

BD’s product portfolio includes single-use medical devices such as syringes, needles, needlesafety and injection systems, infusion therapy and medication management solutions, as well as vascular access, urology and oncology devices acquired through its interventional business.