Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) Competitors

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) and Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, community ranking, media sentiment and dividends.

Is ABT or BDX a better dividend stock?

Abbott Laboratories pays an annual dividend of $2.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Becton, Dickinson and Company pays an annual dividend of $3.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Abbott Laboratories pays out 68.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Becton, Dickinson and Company pays out 83.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Abbott Laboratories has increased its dividend for 53 consecutive years and Becton, Dickinson and Company has increased its dividend for 52 consecutive years. Abbott Laboratories is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, ABT or BDX?

Abbott Laboratories has higher revenue and earnings than Becton, Dickinson and Company. Abbott Laboratories is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Becton, Dickinson and Company, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Abbott Laboratories	$40.11B	4.56	$5.72B	$3.21	32.78
Becton, Dickinson and Company	$19.37B	3.54	$1.48B	$4.54	52.28

Do analysts recommend ABT or BDX?

Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus price target of $120.70, suggesting a potential upside of 14.70%. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus price target of $280.13, suggesting a potential upside of 18.02%. Given Abbott Laboratories' higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Becton, Dickinson and Company is more favorable than Abbott Laboratories.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Abbott Laboratories	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.88
Becton, Dickinson and Company	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.88

Is ABT or BDX more profitable?

Abbott Laboratories has a net margin of 13.65% compared to Abbott Laboratories' net margin of 6.76%. Becton, Dickinson and Company's return on equity of 20.32% beat Abbott Laboratories' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Abbott Laboratories	13.65%	20.32%	10.78%
Becton, Dickinson and Company	6.76%	13.90%	6.73%

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in ABT or BDX?

Abbott Laboratories received 329 more outperform votes than Becton, Dickinson and Company when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 69.69% of users gave Abbott Laboratories an outperform vote while only 62.29% of users gave Becton, Dickinson and Company an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Abbott Laboratories	Outperform Votes 922 69.69%	Underperform Votes 401 30.31%
Becton, Dickinson and Company	Outperform Votes 593 62.29%	Underperform Votes 359 37.71%

Does the media favor ABT or BDX?

In the previous week, Abbott Laboratories had 17 more articles in the media than Becton, Dickinson and Company. MarketBeat recorded 38 mentions for Abbott Laboratories and 21 mentions for Becton, Dickinson and Company. Abbott Laboratories' average media sentiment score of 0.78 beat Becton, Dickinson and Company's score of 0.64 indicating that Becton, Dickinson and Company is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Abbott Laboratories	14 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	13 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Becton, Dickinson and Company	7 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility & risk, ABT or BDX?

Abbott Laboratories has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a beta of 0.42, suggesting that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in ABT or BDX?

75.2% of Abbott Laboratories shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.0% of Becton, Dickinson and Company shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Abbott Laboratories shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Becton, Dickinson and Company shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Abbott Laboratories beats Becton, Dickinson and Company on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.