Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.95

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 23rd, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of 0.95 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Monday, September 30th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th.

Becton, Dickinson and Company has increased its dividend by an average of 4.8% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 52 consecutive years. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a payout ratio of 26.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Becton, Dickinson and Company to earn $14.26 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.6%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.2 %

BDX stock opened at $232.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $67.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.25, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.42. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $269.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $234.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $235.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.96 EPS. Research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BDX. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.