Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) to Repurchase 10,000,000 Outstanding Stock

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of BDX traded up $1.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $249.75. 1,741,418 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,983,307. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $228.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $72.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.05, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $250.91.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. 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 currently 70.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BDX. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,840. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. The trade was a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716 over the last quarter. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.