Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Short Interest Up 17.8% in June

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,320,000 shares, a growth of 17.8% from the June 15th total of 1,970,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BDX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target 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. Citigroup reduced their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.70, for a total value of $781,110.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,608 shares in the company, valued at $3,457,713.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,615 shares of company stock worth $2,033,381 in the last quarter. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 1,852,278 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $451,641,000 after buying an additional 68,509 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4.9% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 402,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $99,562,000 after buying an additional 18,786 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,295,000. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 103,004 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,115,000 after buying an additional 22,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2,086.7% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 51,934 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $12,853,000 after buying an additional 49,559 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Up 1.9 %

BDX stock opened at $229.11 on Monday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $287.32. The business’s 50-day moving average is $232.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $66.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $5.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.04 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 6.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.