Dividend Aristocrat Becton Dickinson and Company (BDX) will raise its quarterly dividend by 2.7 percent to $0.77 per share. This follows a 2 cent dividend hike to 75 cents in 2017.

The increased dividend will be payable on December 31, 2018 to holders of record on December 10, 2018. A new indicated annual dividend rate of $3.08 per share yields 1.3% at a stock price of $240.39.

"Fiscal 2018 was a historic year for BD with the successful completion of the acquisition of C. R. Bard. We are extremely proud of our strong fiscal 2018 results, which demonstrate how agile we can be as an organization while executing concurrently on two transformative acquisitions. We enter fiscal 2019 with continued strong momentum and confidence in our ability to execute on our strategy and deliver on our commitments," said Vincent A. Forlenza, Chairman and CEO. "This is the forty-seventh consecutive fiscal year in which we have raised our dividend. This increase reflects our confidence in our long-term outlook, as well as our ongoing commitment to create value and return capital to our shareholders."

ecton, Dickinson and Company (BD) is a global medical technology company engaged in the development, manufacture and sale of a broad range of medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment and diagnostic products used by healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, the pharmaceutical industry and the general public. BD’s operations consist of three worldwide business segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences and BD Interventional. Becton, Dickinson and Company was incorporated under the laws of the State of New Jersey in November 1906, as successor to a New York business started in 1897.