Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.05

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be given a dividend of 1.05 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 8th. This is a 1.0% increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04.

Becton, Dickinson and Company has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 53 years. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a payout ratio of 28.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Becton, Dickinson and Company to earn $15.64 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 26.6%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.6%

Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $177.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,595,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,451,346. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $50.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $187.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.59. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $162.29 and a 12 month high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 16.23%. As a group, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on BDX. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $172.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $205.40.

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.