Park National Corp OH Buys 10,145 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Park National Corp OH raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 37.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 37,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,145 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $8,751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.6% in the first quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $424,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,303 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,537,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Edge Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 3,951 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BDX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $270.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total value of $71,793.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Thomas J. Spoerel sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.31, for a total transaction of $71,793.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roland Goette sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.73, for a total value of $781,209.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,308 shares in the company, valued at $2,676,942.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of BDX traded down $1.66 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $234.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,330,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,449,540. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company’s 50-day moving average is $233.60 and its 200-day moving average is $236.26. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $218.75 and a 52-week high of $283.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.96, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.42.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.13% and a return on equity of 14.49%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s payout ratio is currently 83.70%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Profile

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.