Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Short Interest Update

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,040,000 shares, a decline of 15.4% from the October 15th total of 2,410,000 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,290,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BDX shares. Raymond James decreased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on 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. StockNews.com upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded down $1.01 on Monday, reaching $224.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,319,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,409,970. The company has a market capitalization of $64.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.90, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $249.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $236.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $235.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 63.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,364,096,000 after purchasing an additional 106,616 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,510,050,000 after acquiring an additional 111,101 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,293,635,000 after acquiring an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,181,483,000 after acquiring an additional 302,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,031,167,000 after acquiring an additional 346,720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

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.