Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Declares Dividend Increase – $1.04 Per Share

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 7th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of 1.04 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95.

Becton, Dickinson and Company has increased its dividend by an average of 4.8% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 52 consecutive years. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a dividend payout ratio of 26.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Becton, Dickinson and Company to earn $14.30 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 26.6%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $243.90 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $70.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $257.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $237.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.16.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BDX shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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 on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.63.

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.