Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $249.49 and last traded at $246.42, with a volume of 238396 shares. The stock had previously closed at $243.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on BDX. StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.4 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $228.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.03%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $185,180.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at $3,807,235. This represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total transaction of $990,787.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This trade represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quilter Plc purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $227,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $534,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 85.9% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,628 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,319,000 after acquiring an additional 6,759 shares during the period. V2 Financial group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $349,000. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 18,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,201,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.