Short Interest in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Drops By 15.4%

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,040,000 shares, a decline of 15.4% from the October 15th total of 2,410,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,290,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

BDX traded down $2.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $225.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,965,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,410,378. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $236.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $234.99. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $249.89. The company has a market capitalization of $65.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 70.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,364,096,000 after buying an additional 106,616 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,510,050,000 after acquiring an additional 111,101 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after purchasing an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,181,483,000 after purchasing an additional 302,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,031,167,000 after purchasing an additional 346,720 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BDX shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

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.