Park National Corp OH Purchases 1,089 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Park National Corp OH raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 38,256 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $8,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 61.4% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 142 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BDX. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $192.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $260.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $172.96 on Thursday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $163.33 and a twelve month high of $251.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.57 billion, a PE ratio of 28.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $194.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $217.56.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 459 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $105,570.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,952 shares in the company, valued at $1,598,960. The trade was a 6.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total transaction of $94,497.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares in the company, valued at $964,107.36. The trade was a 8.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,878 shares of company stock valued at $636,393. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.