Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stock Rating Lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $192.00 target price on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on BDX. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $235.88.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $168.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $48.41 billion, a PE ratio of 28.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $214.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.13. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $166.11 and a 1 year high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase 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 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $159,593.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 36,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,215,163.67. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson purchased 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $233.62 per share, with a total value of $350,430.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 8,015 shares in the company, valued at $1,872,464.30. This represents a 23.02 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,578 shares of company stock valued at $795,986 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 341.4% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.