Share Repurchase Program Approved by Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Board

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 28th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase 10,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the medical instruments supplier to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of BDX opened at $248.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $72.02 billion, a PE ratio of 41.81, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $218.75 and a 1 year high of $250.91. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $229.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.55.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BDX. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,113,949.51. This trade represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock valued at $2,210,716. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.