Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Price Target Lowered to $285.00 at Evercore ISI

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) had its price objective reduced by Evercore ISI from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a buy rating and a $274.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $280.86.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $229.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $224.00 and a 12-month high of $287.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 6.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.86 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total value of $781,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,713.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total value of $781,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,457,713.60. 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 1,715 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.81, for a total value of $399,269.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,252,750.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,615 shares of company stock worth $2,033,381. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,303 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,537,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,420 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 48 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.