Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Now Covered by Citigroup

Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $233.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 15.18% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $213.36.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $202.29 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $198.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $191.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $162.29 and a twelve month high of $251.99. The company has a market capitalization of $57.63 billion, a PE ratio of 34.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 16.42%. The company had revenue of $5.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.81 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.750-15.050 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 27th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 0% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $38,317.86. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,324,389.28. This represents a 0.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $334,010.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,509,228.70. This trade represents a 11.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 2,680 shares of company stock worth $539,848 over the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BDX. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9,056.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,232,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $979,290,000 after buying an additional 5,174,944 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,308,749 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,565,182,000 after acquiring an additional 4,305,947 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter worth about $653,377,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 3,268,478 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 24.4% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,514,446 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,466,613,000 after purchasing an additional 1,670,590 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 (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.