Becton, Dickinson and Company to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.04 (NYSE:BDX)

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 28th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of 1.04 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company has raised its dividend by an average of 5.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 35 years. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a payout ratio of 26.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Becton, Dickinson and Company to earn $15.69 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 26.5%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of BDX traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $249.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,741,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,983,254. 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 has a market capitalization of $72.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $228.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.31. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $250.91.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented 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 company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total value of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,377,840. This trade represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716. Company insiders own 0.36% 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.