Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) Competitors

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

Which has better valuation and earnings, ABT or BDX?

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
Abbott Laboratories	$41.95B	5.28	$13.40B	$7.65	16.70
Becton, Dickinson and Company	$20.64B	2.86	$1.71B	$6.02	34.16

Do analysts rate ABT or BDX?

Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus target price of $137.94, indicating a potential upside of 7.95%. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus target price of $275.71, indicating a potential upside of 34.07%. Given Becton, Dickinson and Company's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, 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
Abbott Laboratories	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.84
Becton, Dickinson and Company	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Does the media prefer ABT or BDX?

In the previous week, Abbott Laboratories and Abbott Laboratories both had 40 articles in the media. Abbott Laboratories' average media sentiment score of 1.41 beat Becton, Dickinson and Company's score of 1.00 indicating that Abbott Laboratories is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Abbott Laboratories	32 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Becton, Dickinson and Company	26 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community favor ABT or BDX?

Abbott Laboratories received 343 more outperform votes than Becton, Dickinson and Company when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 69.97% of users gave Abbott Laboratories an outperform vote while only 62.42% of users gave Becton, Dickinson and Company an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Abbott Laboratories	Outperform Votes 946 69.97%	Underperform Votes 406 30.03%
Becton, Dickinson and Company	Outperform Votes 603 62.42%	Underperform Votes 363 37.58%

Which has more risk and volatility, ABT or BDX?

Abbott Laboratories has a beta of 0.8, indicating that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a beta of 0.35, indicating that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ABT or BDX 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
Abbott Laboratories	31.95%	20.74%	11.19%
Becton, Dickinson and Company	8.47%	15.74%	7.29%

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of ABT or BDX?

75.2% of Abbott Laboratories shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.0% of Becton, Dickinson and Company shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Abbott Laboratories shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Becton, Dickinson and Company shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is ABT or BDX a better dividend stock?

Abbott Laboratories pays an annual dividend of $2.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Becton, Dickinson and Company pays an annual dividend of $4.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Abbott Laboratories pays out 30.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Becton, Dickinson and Company pays out 69.1% 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. Abbott Laboratories has increased its dividend for 54 consecutive years and Becton, Dickinson and Company has increased its dividend for 53 consecutive years.

Summary

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