Argus Cuts Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Price Target to $180.00

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) had its target price trimmed by Argus from $230.00 to $180.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

BDX has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 target price (down from $205.00) on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $197.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.62.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX opened at $158.23 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $182.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.10. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $127.59 and a one year high of $187.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $45.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 0.24.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.10. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 8.01%.The business had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.52%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total transaction of $174,027.33. Following the sale, the director directly owned 36,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,713,291.43. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,509,228.70. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,787 shares of company stock valued at $551,391. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 71.4% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 82,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $15,471,000 after purchasing an additional 34,437 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 88.2% in the third quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,794 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,084,000 after purchasing an additional 2,715 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth $650,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,455,790 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,074,750,000 after purchasing an additional 147,041 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

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.