Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $187.92 and last traded at $186.7470, with a volume of 409092 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $180.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BDX. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $156.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $161.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $185.67.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $51.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.56, a PEG ratio of 13.22 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.09. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 4.52%.The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.620-12.720 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Thomas E. Polen, Jr. sold 4,152 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.00, for a total transaction of $768,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,380,155. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 David Garrison sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.66, for a total transaction of $160,226.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,918,633.52. This represents a 7.71% decrease in their position. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,779 shares of company stock worth $1,974,669. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 627,900 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $122,403,000 after acquiring an additional 26,671 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,126,471 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $218,614,000 after purchasing an additional 240,673 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.2% in the 4th quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 172,580 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $33,493,000 after purchasing an additional 65,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northside Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 18.3% during the second quarter. Northside Capital Management LLC now owns 61,324 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $9,280,000 after buying an additional 9,494 shares in 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 (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.