Short Interest in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Drops By 10.0%

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,900,000 shares, a decrease of 10.0% from the November 15th total of 2,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,480,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BDX shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of BDX stock traded down $1.88 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $225.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,526,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,470,588. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $249.89. The company has a market capitalization of $65.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.99, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $230.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.40.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. The trade was a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.