Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Given New $195.00 Price Target at Barclays

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Barclays from $165.00 to $195.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Barclays‘s target price suggests a potential downside of 8.52% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on BDX. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $170.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $208.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $197.47.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $213.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $58.73 billion, a PE ratio of 51.62, a P/E/G ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $188.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.32. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $140.11 and a one year high of $216.74.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.07 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.11 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 4.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 5th that permits the company to repurchase 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to reacquire up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Thomas Polen, Jr. sold 2,993 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $628,530.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,163 shares in the company, valued at $23,134,230. This trade represents a 2.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Michael Feld sold 165 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.49, for a total value of $31,100.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,717,022.80. This trade represents a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 7,462 shares of company stock valued at $1,456,770 over the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Moneco Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% in the third quarter. Moneco Advisors LLC now owns 2,071 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.2% during the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 644 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 12.3% in the third quarter. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. now owns 510 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,942 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,601,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% during the second quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company, commonly known as BD, is a global medical technology company that develops and manufactures products used in healthcare, clinical laboratories and life sciences research. Founded in 1897, the company has a long history of producing medical devices and supplies.

BD’s products include syringes, needles, infusion systems and medication-management technologies, as well as equipment and supplies for collecting and processing clinical specimens. The company also provides diagnostic systems, laboratory instruments and tools used in areas such as cell analysis and biomedical research.

Its offerings serve hospitals, clinics, laboratories, researchers and pharmaceutical companies.