Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.04

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 29th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of 1.04 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Monday, June 30th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th.

Becton, Dickinson and Company has a dividend payout ratio of 28.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Becton, Dickinson and Company to earn $15.64 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.6%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $173.47 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $186.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.84. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $163.33 and a 12 month high of $251.99. The company has a market capitalization of $49.72 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.25. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.17 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BDX shares. Raymond James cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $261.00 to $241.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $219.22.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $105,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.19, for a total transaction of $199,607.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $783,194.25. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,044 shares of company stock valued at $836,000. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 98.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 877 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $401,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. 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.