Short Interest in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Rises By 5.0%

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,930,000 shares, an increase of 5.0% from the March 15th total of 2,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BDX traded down $3.71 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $231.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,064,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,412,517. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $240.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $242.91. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $229.85 and a fifty-two week high of $287.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,123,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,369,681,000 after acquiring an additional 195,931 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,200,213 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,637,062,000 after purchasing an additional 435,168 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,192,832 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,342,503,000 after purchasing an additional 512,566 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,021,220 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,239,745,000 after purchasing an additional 76,294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 95,813.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,045,643 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,028,807,000 after purchasing an additional 4,041,425 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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