Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $1.04

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 7th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a dividend of 1.04 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This is a boost from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95.

Becton, Dickinson and Company has increased its dividend payment by an average of 4.8% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 52 consecutive years. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a dividend payout ratio of 26.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Becton, Dickinson and Company to earn $14.30 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 26.6%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 2.0 %

BDX stock opened at $231.65 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $237.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $235.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.00, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $249.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BDX. Raymond James cut their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.63.

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.