Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) Competitors

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability, risk, community ranking, analyst recommendations, media sentiment and institutional ownership.

Is BDX or ABT more profitable?

Abbott Laboratories has a net margin of 31.95% compared to Becton, Dickinson and Company's net margin of 8.47%. Abbott Laboratories' return on equity of 20.74% beat Becton, Dickinson and Company's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Becton, Dickinson and Company	8.47%	15.74%	7.29%
Abbott Laboratories	31.95%	20.74%	11.19%

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in BDX or ABT?

87.0% of Becton, Dickinson and Company shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.2% of Abbott Laboratories shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Becton, Dickinson and Company shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Abbott Laboratories shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media favor BDX or ABT?

In the previous week, Abbott Laboratories had 24 more articles in the media than Becton, Dickinson and Company. MarketBeat recorded 72 mentions for Abbott Laboratories and 48 mentions for Becton, Dickinson and Company. Abbott Laboratories' average media sentiment score of 1.56 beat Becton, Dickinson and Company's score of 1.51 indicating that Abbott Laboratories is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Becton, Dickinson and Company	42 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Abbott Laboratories	66 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, BDX or ABT?

Abbott Laboratories has higher revenue and earnings than Becton, Dickinson and Company. Abbott Laboratories is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Becton, Dickinson and Company, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Becton, Dickinson and Company	$20.18B	3.24	$1.71B	$6.02	37.80
Abbott Laboratories	$41.95B	5.58	$13.40B	$7.65	17.65

Is BDX or ABT a better dividend stock?

Becton, Dickinson and Company pays an annual dividend of $4.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Abbott Laboratories pays an annual dividend of $2.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Becton, Dickinson and Company pays out 69.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Abbott Laboratories pays out 30.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Becton, Dickinson and Company has raised its dividend for 53 consecutive years and Abbott Laboratories has raised its dividend for 53 consecutive years.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer BDX or ABT?

Abbott Laboratories received 343 more outperform votes than Becton, Dickinson and Company when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 69.90% of users gave Abbott Laboratories an outperform vote while only 62.43% of users gave Becton, Dickinson and Company an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Becton, Dickinson and Company	Outperform Votes 600 62.43%	Underperform Votes 361 37.57%
Abbott Laboratories	Outperform Votes 943 69.90%	Underperform Votes 406 30.10%

Do analysts prefer BDX or ABT?

Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus target price of $278.29, indicating a potential upside of 22.30%. Abbott Laboratories has a consensus target price of $133.06, indicating a potential downside of 1.46%. Given Becton, Dickinson and Company's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Becton, Dickinson and Company is more favorable than Abbott Laboratories.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Becton, Dickinson and Company	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Abbott Laboratories	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.83

Which has more volatility & risk, BDX or ABT?

Becton, Dickinson and Company has a beta of 0.4, meaning that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Abbott Laboratories has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Abbott Laboratories beats Becton, Dickinson and Company on 16 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.