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

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

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,455,790 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,074,750,000 after purchasing an additional 147,041 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,872,395 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,596,496,000 after buying an additional 459,219 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 9,994,408 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,870,653,000 after buying an additional 1,208,218 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,150,584 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,712,715,000 after buying an additional 636,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9,056.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,232,086 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $979,290,000 after buying an additional 5,174,944 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BDX opened at $156.56 on Friday. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $127.59 and a twelve month high of $187.35. The firm has a market cap of $44.58 billion, a PE 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 quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.05. The business has a fifty day moving average of $186.50 and a 200-day moving average of $189.08.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.10. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 15.76%. The business had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on BDX. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $197.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $233.00 to $232.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays assumed 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.46.

Insider Activity at Becton, Dickinson and Company

In related news, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 953 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director owned 36,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,713,291.43. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 1,610 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $334,010.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,509,228.70. This represents a 11.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 2,787 shares of company stock worth $551,391 over the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Becton, Dickinson and Company

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.