Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.04 on March 31st

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 28th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of 1.04 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th.

Becton, Dickinson and Company has increased its dividend payment by an average of 5.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 35 years. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a dividend payout ratio of 26.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Becton, Dickinson and Company to earn $15.69 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.5%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX opened at $246.85 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $229.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.46. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12-month low of $218.75 and a 12-month high of $250.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $71.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.56, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.42 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,949.51. This trade represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Shan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,741 shares in the company, valued at $1,377,840. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,844 shares of company stock worth $2,210,716. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.