Argus Lowers Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Price Target to $180.00

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) had its price target cut by equities research analysts at Argus from $230.00 to $180.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Argus’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 14.92% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on BDX. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $184.00 to $157.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $197.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $202.00 price objective on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.62.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE BDX traded up $2.49 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $156.62. The company had a trading volume of 162,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,824,074. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $185.53 and its 200 day moving average is $188.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $127.59 and a fifty-two week high of $187.35. The company has a market capitalization of $44.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a P/E/G ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.24.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.10. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 8.01%.The company had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 27th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to purchase up to 0% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $174,027.33. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 36,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,713,291.43. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 12,095 shares in the company, valued at $2,509,228.70. The trade was a 11.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,787 shares of company stock worth $551,391. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 22,225.2% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 40,711,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $790,079,000 after purchasing an additional 40,528,680 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,678,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,118,282,000 after purchasing an additional 4,223,149 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,989,132 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,714,871,000 after purchasing an additional 116,737 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 11,646,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,260,139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,592 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,486,694 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,841,083,000 after purchasing an additional 336,110 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.