C.R. Bard, Inc. (NYSE:BCR) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

C.R. Bard, Inc. (NYSE:BCR) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the thirteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $273.80.

BCR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of C.R. Bard from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 11th. BidaskClub raised shares of C.R. Bard from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of C.R. Bard from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price target on shares of C.R. Bard in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Finally, Jefferies Group LLC boosted their price target on shares of C.R. Bard from $237.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 24th.

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Shares of C.R. Bard (NYSE:BCR) traded down 0.25% during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $318.58. 733,374 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $317.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $279.50. C.R. Bard has a 52-week low of $203.63 and a 52-week high of $323.27. The company has a market cap of $23.15 billion, a PE ratio of 41.82 and a beta of 0.59.

C.R. Bard (NYSE:BCR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $979.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $976.53 million. C.R. Bard had a net margin of 14.99% and a return on equity of 48.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.54 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that C.R. Bard will post $11.79 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 20th. C.R. Bard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.67%.

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BCR. Fundsmith LLP increased its stake in C.R. Bard by 2.1% in the first quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 2,553,141 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $633,996,000 after buying an additional 52,272 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its stake in C.R. Bard by 0.7% in the first quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,298 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in C.R. Bard by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 267,451 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $60,087,000 after buying an additional 9,134 shares during the period. Granite Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in C.R. Bard by 14.3% in the first quarter. Granite Investment Advisors LLC now owns 33,276 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,270,000 after buying an additional 4,159 shares during the period. Finally, Buffington Mohr McNeal increased its stake in C.R. Bard by 14.1% in the first quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 7,545 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,875,000 after buying an additional 930 shares during the period. 86.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About C.R. Bard

C. R. Bard, Inc (Bard) is engaged in designing, manufacturing, packaging, distribution and sale of medical, surgical, diagnostic and patient care devices. The Company operates through the manufacture and sale of medical devices segment. It sells a range of products to hospitals, individual healthcare professionals, extended care facilities and alternate site facilities on a global basis.