Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Trading Down 1.3% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) fell 1.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $224.01 and last traded at $224.44. 359,106 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 1,501,917 shares. The stock had previously closed at $227.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BDX shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.5 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $232.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $232.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.93 billion, a PE ratio of 36.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. As a group, analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.10%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $185,180.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,235. This trade represents a 4.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total value of $633,810.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. This represents a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,363 shares of company stock worth $1,676,105 over the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,067,196,000 after purchasing an additional 184,288 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,364,096,000 after buying an additional 106,616 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,751,187,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219,317 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,437,161,000 after acquiring an additional 66,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,401,126,000 after purchasing an additional 810,345 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.