Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stock Price

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at Barclays from $261.00 to $241.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential upside of 41.05% from the company’s previous close.

BDX has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $217.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.22.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.1%

BDX opened at $170.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.54. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $163.33 and a 1-year high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.17 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,598,960. This represents a 6.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total value of $199,607.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,575 shares in the company, valued at $783,194.25. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,044 shares of company stock worth $836,000. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter worth $26,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the first quarter worth $27,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in 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.