Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) to Buyback 10,000,000 Outstanding Stock

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of BDX stock opened at $246.85 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $71.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.56, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $250.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $229.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.46.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Shana Carol Neal sold 788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total value of $185,180.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,807,235. This represents a 4.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This trade represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716. Corporate insiders own 0.36% 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.