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

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,930,000 shares, an increase of 5.0% from the March 15th total of 2,790,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,430,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on BDX. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.00.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

BDX traded up $1.11 on Wednesday, reaching $232.12. 908,896 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,404,890. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $229.40 and a twelve month high of $287.32. The stock has a market cap of $67.06 billion, a PE ratio of 54.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $240.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $242.72.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.29. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 6.44%. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.98 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.29, for a total value of $67,197.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares in the company, valued at $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BDX. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

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.