Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) CEO Thomas Polen, Jr. Sells 2,993 Shares of Company Stock

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) CEO Thomas Polen, Jr. sold 2,993 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $628,530.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,134,230. This represents a 2.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:BDX opened at $215.13 on Tuesday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $138.31 and a 12 month high of $216.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.96, a PEG ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.22. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.07 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.11 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 14.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.96 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 10th will be given a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 10th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on BDX shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Zacks Research raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $208.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.47.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,721,533,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,000,064 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,269,960,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177,256 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 13,815,335 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,090,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,887,224 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter valued at about $474,993,000. Finally, Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 1,835,571 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $328,567,000 after purchasing an additional 150,931 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company, commonly known as BD, is a global medical technology company that develops and manufactures products used in healthcare, clinical laboratories and life sciences research. Founded in 1897, the company has a long history of producing medical devices and supplies.

BD’s products include syringes, needles, infusion systems and medication-management technologies, as well as equipment and supplies for collecting and processing clinical specimens. The company also provides diagnostic systems, laboratory instruments and tools used in areas such as cell analysis and biomedical research.

Its offerings serve hospitals, clinics, laboratories, researchers and pharmaceutical companies.