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

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at $385,000. Cornerstone Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.0% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 7,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,881,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 843.7% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,919,583 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $475,001,000 after purchasing an additional 67,305 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock traded down $2.02 on Friday, reaching $225.15. 1,965,697 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,410,378. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $236.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $234.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $249.89. The company has a market cap of $65.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BDX. StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price 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 boosted their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.00.

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.