Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Reaches New 12-Month Low at $229.40

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $229.40 and last traded at $231.63, with a volume of 865704 shares. The stock had previously closed at $231.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James raised their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $240.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $67.64 billion, a PE ratio of 55.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.29. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 6.44%. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.98 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

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.