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

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 30th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.95 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Friday, June 28th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company has increased its dividend by an average of 4.8% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 52 years. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a payout ratio of 26.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Becton, Dickinson and Company to earn $14.32 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 26.5%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BDX traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $234.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,624,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,365,011. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $229.40 and a 1 year high of $287.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $239.10 and its 200-day moving average is $240.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.29. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on BDX shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.00.

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.