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

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 23rd, RTT News reports. Stockholders 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 1.62%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.8% annually over the last three years and has raised 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 $14.22 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 26.7%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX traded up $3.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $234.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,347,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,426,471. The firm has a market cap of $67.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.90, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $232.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.31. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 6.76%. The firm had revenue of $5.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total transaction of $781,110.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,457,713.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,615 shares of company stock valued at $2,033,381 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BDX shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reduced their target price 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. 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 report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.14.

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.