Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Declares $1.04 Quarterly Dividend

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 22nd, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of 1.04 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company has a payout ratio of 28.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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

BDX traded up $6.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $181.50. 1,891,795 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,153,657. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $173.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $204.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $163.33 and a 1-year high of $251.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.25.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 15.99%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on BDX. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $192.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, William Blair downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $219.22.

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP David Shan sold 1,166 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 4,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at $783,194.25. This represents a 20.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 98.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure 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 quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.