Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Plans Dividend Increase – $1.06 Per Share

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.06 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Thursday, December 31st. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 10th. This is a 1.0% increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05.

Becton, Dickinson and Company has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 53 years. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a payout ratio of 28.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Becton, Dickinson and Company to earn $13.24 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.7%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX opened at $213.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $58.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.17, a P/E/G ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $127.59 and a 1-year high of $214.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $187.69 and its 200 day moving average is $170.23.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.07 by $0.08. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 4.52%. The company had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.96 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael Feld sold 165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.49, for a total transaction of $31,100.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,717,022.80. This represents a 0.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 2,438 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.84, for a total transaction of $440,887.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,856 shares in the company, valued at $2,686,559.04. This represents a 14.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 6,907 shares of company stock valued at $1,269,128 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the second quarter worth $3,721,533,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,000,064 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,269,960,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177,256 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.8% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 13,815,335 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,090,675,000 after buying an additional 1,887,224 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the second quarter valued at $474,993,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,101,695 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $318,050,000 after buying an additional 30,766 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company, commonly known as BD, is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells a broad range of products used by healthcare providers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical companies and patients. Its offerings support medication delivery, diagnostics, infection prevention, surgical care and other clinical procedures.

BD’s products include needles, syringes, injection devices, intravenous administration systems, medication-management technologies, specimen-collection products, diagnostic systems and laboratory instruments.