Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Stock Price

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) had its price target cut by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $280.00 to $196.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 17.10% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays cut their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $231.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $167.38 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $163.33 and a 12-month high of $251.99. The company has a market capitalization of $48.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.80, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $211.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.15.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.17 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total transaction of $436,325.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,411 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,666,808.01. This represents a 20.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey William Henderson acquired 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $233.62 per share, for a total transaction of $350,430.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,872,464.30. The trade was a 23.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,578 shares of company stock worth $795,986. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,558 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.5% in the first quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,814 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,248,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Americana Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.