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

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 30th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.95 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company has raised its dividend payment by an average of 4.8% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 52 years. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a dividend payout ratio of 26.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Becton, Dickinson and Company to earn $14.32 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 26.5%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $234.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,624,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,365,751. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $238.98 and a 200 day moving average of $240.76. The stock has a market cap of $67.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $229.40 and a 52-week high of $287.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 6.44%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total transaction of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on BDX. Barclays upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $280.00.

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.