Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Citigroup

Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $233.00 price objective on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $213.36.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.7%

BDX opened at $206.41 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $58.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.41, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.25. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $199.50 and its 200-day moving average is $191.98. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $162.29 and a 1-year high of $239.24.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 16.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.81 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 27th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 0% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.04%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president owned 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,509,228.70. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 2,463 shares of company stock valued at $501,530 in the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9,056.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,232,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $979,290,000 after buying an additional 5,174,944 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,308,749 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,565,182,000 after acquiring an additional 4,305,947 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 23,219.2% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,155,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $769,397,000 after acquiring an additional 4,137,888 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter worth $653,377,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 59.2% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 8,786,190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,513,421,000 after purchasing an additional 3,268,478 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.