Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on BDX. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore set a $180.00 target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.07.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $200.21 on Wednesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $127.59 and a 1-year high of $200.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $185.10 and its 200-day moving average is $164.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.16 billion, a PE ratio of 60.30, a PEG ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 0.21.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.09. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 14.79%. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.620-12.720 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael Feld sold 165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.49, for a total value of $31,100.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,717,022.80. This trade represents a 0.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 2,438 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.84, for a total transaction of $440,887.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,686,559.04. This represents a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 6,906 shares of company stock worth $1,265,855 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 40.4% during the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,262 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.8% in the third quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 17,424 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,119,000 after acquiring an additional 2,512 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.8% in the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 10,167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 19.3% in the third quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 69,438 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,429,000 after purchasing an additional 11,257 shares during the period. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth about $233,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

Becton, Dickinson and Company, commonly known as BD, is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells a broad range of products used by healthcare providers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical companies and patients. Its offerings support medication delivery, diagnostics, infection prevention, surgical care and other clinical procedures.

BD’s products include needles, syringes, injection devices, intravenous administration systems, medication-management technologies, specimen-collection products, diagnostic systems and laboratory instruments.