Park National Corp OH Sells 5,424 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company $BDX

Park National Corp OH decreased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,113 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 5,424 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $7,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BDX. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 20.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares during the period. United Bank grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 23.9% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 5,149 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 6.0% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 83,538 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,389,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.5% in the second quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 728 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $172.00 target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price target (down from $205.00) on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $202.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $195.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.61, for a total value of $174,027.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 36,763 shares in the company, valued at $6,713,291.43. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $334,010.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,095 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,509,228.70. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,787 shares of company stock worth $551,391. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $156.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $186.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $189.08. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 1 year low of $127.59 and a 1 year high of $187.35.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.10. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.76% and a net margin of 8.01%.The business had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.43 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Becton, Dickinson and Company has set its FY 2026 guidance at 12.350-12.650 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is presently 68.52%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 27th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 0% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells a broad range of medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. BD’s products are used by healthcare institutions, clinical laboratories, life science researchers and the pharmaceutical industry to enable safe, effective delivery of care, specimen collection and diagnostic testing. The company’s operations span multiple business areas focused on medical devices, life sciences research tools and interventional technologies.

BD’s product portfolio includes single-use medical devices such as syringes, needles, needlesafety and injection systems, infusion therapy and medication management solutions, as well as vascular access, urology and oncology devices acquired through its interventional business.