Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Short Interest Up 5.0% in March

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,930,000 shares, a growth of 5.0% from the March 15th total of 2,790,000 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BDX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James increased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 282 shares of the business’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,348.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Becton, Dickinson and Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the first quarter valued at approximately $114,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.3% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,923 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $778,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.8% during the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,383 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.0% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 504 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,346 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE BDX opened at $232.26 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $240.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $242.65. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 12 month low of $229.40 and a 12 month high of $287.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.04, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 6.44% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is 90.05%.

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.