Becton’s 27% gain is just the start

Article Excerpt

BECTON DICKINSON & CO. $282 is a buy. The company (New York symbol BDX; Conservative Growth Portfolio; Consumer sector; Shares o/s: 271.0 million; Market cap: $76.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.4; Divd. yield: 1.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bd.com). completed its $25.0 billion cash-and-stock takeover of rival medical device maker C.R. Bard (old New York symbol BCR) on Janaury 1, 2018. Bard was a long-term recommendation of ours, and its shareholders have enjoyed an impressive 27% gain since the merger. Becton expects cost savings from the Bard acquisition to increase its earnings for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020 to between $12.50 and $12.65. That represents a 9.5% to 11.0% rise from 2019. The stock trades at a reasonable 22.4 times the midpoint of that 2020 range. Becton also recently rewarded investors with a 2.6% dividend increase. The new annual rate $3.16 dividend yields 1.1%. 1.1%….