Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Short Interest Up 37.9% in September

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,730,000 shares, a growth of 37.9% from the August 31st total of 1,980,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BDX has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup cut their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.8 %

BDX stock traded up $4.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $241.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,284,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,425,640. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $269.52. The company has a market capitalization of $69.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.20, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $235.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.70%.

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.