5 Best Aristocrat Dividend Stocks to Buy

3. Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE: BDX)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 65
Dividend Yield: 1.37%

American medical technology firm Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE: BDX) ranks 3rd in our list of the best aristocrat dividend stocks to buy. The New Jersey-based company manufactures medical, laboratory, and diagnostic devices. Among the medical products the company distributes worldwide are catheters, hypodermic syringes and needles, blood collection products, and surgical instrumentation products. Becton, Dickinson and Company has increased its annual dividend for 49 consecutive years and maintains a payout ratio of 61%. The company currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share.

The company has a market cap of $70 billion. The company’s revenue in the second quarter of 2021 grew 15.4% to $4.9 billion. On May 7, SVB Leerink retained a “Market perform” rating on Becton, Dickinson and Company and reduced the price target to $260. 

At the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, 65 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $3.96 billion in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE: BDX) which is an increase from 62 hedge funds in the previous quarter holding stakes worth $1.94 billion.