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

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,900,000 shares, a drop of 10.0% from the November 15th total of 2,110,000 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,480,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Insider Transactions at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, EVP Roland Goette sold 638 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.03, for a total transaction of $139,741.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,217 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,949.51. This represents a 4.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 valued at $1,510,050,000 after acquiring an additional 111,101 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 460,440 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,055,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,181,483,000 after purchasing an additional 302,893 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,412,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,031,167,000 after purchasing an additional 346,720 shares in the last quarter. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE:BDX traded down $1.88 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $225.68. 2,526,168 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,470,588. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1-year low of $218.75 and a 1-year high of $249.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $230.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.25 billion, a PE ratio of 37.99, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.41.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.38 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.42 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is presently 70.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on BDX shares. Evercore ISI raised 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. Citigroup raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $283.50.

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.

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