Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Reaches New 12-Month Low at $229.40

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $229.40 and last traded at $231.63, with a volume of 865704 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $231.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on BDX. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $67.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.43, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $240.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $242.58.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 90.05%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth $1,295,000. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 103,004 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $25,115,000 after acquiring an additional 22,207 shares during the period. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. M. Kulyk & Associates LLC now owns 16,640 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,302,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 69.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,113 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,685,000 after acquiring an additional 6,190 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.