Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $249.49 and last traded at $246.42, with a volume of 238396 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $243.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on BDX shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $71.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $228.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.15.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.03%.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Centre Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $8,382,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $647,082,000 after buying an additional 673,568 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 561,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $135,267,000 after purchasing an additional 12,845 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

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.