Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Short Interest Update

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,940,000 shares, a drop of 21.0% from the February 13th total of 3,720,000 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,080,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BDX shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.29.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX stock traded down $0.30 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $231.83. 2,325,001 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,525,762. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $251.99. The stock has a market cap of $66.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. Equities analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.04 dividend. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.10%.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,598,960. This trade represents a 6.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,840. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,822 shares of company stock worth $1,781,675. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BDX. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter worth about $735,523,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,751,187,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219,317 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 392.4% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,416,665 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $775,139,000 after acquiring an additional 2,722,829 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $720,089,000 after buying an additional 1,317,723 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,004,132,000 after buying an additional 1,057,879 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.