Shares of Becton Dickinson and Co (NYSE:BDX) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $267.80.
A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Co dropped their price target on shares of Becton Dickinson and from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. ValuEngine lowered Becton Dickinson and from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Jaffray Companies decreased their price objective on Becton Dickinson and from $267.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Becton Dickinson and from $262.00 to $256.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.
Becton Dickinson and stock opened at $246.78 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $250.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $247.54. Becton Dickinson and has a 1 year low of $208.62 and a 1 year high of $264.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.19.
Becton Dickinson and (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.30 by $0.01. Becton Dickinson and had a net margin of 6.84% and a return on equity of 15.51%. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Becton Dickinson and will post 12.57 EPS for the current year.
In other Becton Dickinson and news, SVP Charles R. Bodner sold 1,514 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.08, for a total value of $393,761.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,347,214.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Vincent A. Forlenza sold 11,532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.38, for a total value of $3,002,702.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 218,671 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,937,554.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,174 shares of company stock worth $8,354,013 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Becton Dickinson and during the 2nd quarter worth $2,062,000. GAM Holding AG raised its holdings in shares of Becton Dickinson and by 56.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 48,870 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,316,000 after acquiring an additional 17,622 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Becton Dickinson and by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 53,480 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $13,477,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Black Diamond Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Becton Dickinson and in the 2nd quarter valued at about $562,000. Finally, Findlay Park Partners LLP raised its holdings in Becton Dickinson and by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP now owns 2,220,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $559,462,000 after buying an additional 170,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.
About Becton Dickinson and
Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products worldwide. The company's BD Medical segment offers peripheral IV and advanced peripheral catheters, central lines, acute dialysis catheters, vascular care and preparation products, needle-free IV connectors and extensions sets, IV fluids, closed-system drug transfer devices, hazardous drug detection, hypodermic syringes and needles, anesthesia needles and trays, enteral syringes, sharps disposal systems; infusion pumps and dedicated disposables, medication compounding workflow systems, automated medication dispensing, automated supply management systems, medication inventory optimization and tracking systems; syringes, pen needles, and other products for diabetes care; and prefillable drug delivery systems.
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