Becton Dickinson and Co (NYSE:BDX) – Equities researchers at Piper Jaffray Companies cut their Q3 2019 earnings estimates for shares of Becton Dickinson and in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, May 9th, according to Zacks Investment Research. Piper Jaffray Companies analyst W. Quirk now anticipates that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings per share of $3.20 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $3.26. Piper Jaffray Companies currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $274.00 target price on the stock. Piper Jaffray Companies also issued estimates for Becton Dickinson and’s Q4 2019 earnings at $3.24 EPS, Q1 2020 earnings at $3.12 EPS and Q4 2020 earnings at $3.58 EPS.
Becton Dickinson and (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $2.57 by $0.02. Becton Dickinson and had a return on equity of 14.58% and a net margin of 5.88%. The company had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year.
BDX has been the subject of several other research reports. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $262.00 target price (down previously from $273.00) on shares of Becton Dickinson and in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Zacks Investment Research raised Becton Dickinson and from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Becton Dickinson and from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Becton Dickinson and from $272.00 to $270.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, ValuEngine cut Becton Dickinson and from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $255.31.
BDX stock traded up $4.14 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $239.36. 1,421,049 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,272,832. Becton Dickinson and has a one year low of $208.62 and a one year high of $265.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BDX. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Becton Dickinson and by 22,485.4% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 6,574,612 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 6,545,502 shares in the last quarter. Ronna Sue Cohen lifted its stake in Becton Dickinson and by 24,129.0% in the 1st quarter. Ronna Sue Cohen now owns 5,734,031 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,734,000 after acquiring an additional 5,710,365 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Becton Dickinson and in the 4th quarter worth about $515,703,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Becton Dickinson and by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,835,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,453,934,000 after acquiring an additional 842,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Becton Dickinson and by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,943,752 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $437,966,000 after acquiring an additional 421,825 shares in the last quarter. 84.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
In related news, CEO Vincent A. Forlenza sold 8,309 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.13, for a total value of $2,119,875.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 222,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,839,137.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ribo Alberto Mas sold 2,104 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $536,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,863,870. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 28,473 shares of company stock valued at $6,878,297. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 6th. Becton Dickinson and’s dividend payout ratio is 27.97%.
Becton Dickinson and Company Profile
Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products worldwide. The company’s BD Medical segment offers peripheral IV and advanced peripheral catheters, central lines, acute dialysis catheters, vascular care and preparation products, needle-free IV connectors and extensions sets, IV fluids, closed-system drug transfer devices, hazardous drug detection, hypodermic syringes and needles, anesthesia needles and trays, enteral syringes, sharps disposal systems; infusion pumps and dedicated disposables, medication compounding workflow systems, automated medication dispensing, automated supply management systems, medication inventory optimization and tracking systems; syringes, pen needles, and other products for diabetes care; and prefillable drug delivery systems.