Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders purchased 66,192 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,734% compared to the average daily volume of 3,609 put options.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.4%

BDX stock opened at $172.06 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $251.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $49.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $183.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.07.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business 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 is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on BDX. Citigroup cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. William Blair cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $219.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total transaction of $199,607.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,575 shares in the company, valued at $783,194.25. This trade represents a 20.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,104 shares of company stock worth $399,675. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

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.