Park National Corp OH Sells 2,092 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Park National Corp OH lowered its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,092 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $8,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 35.8% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.01, for a total value of $990,787.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,345 shares in the company, valued at $5,380,488.45. This represents a 15.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total transaction of $633,810.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,371,469.53. This represents a 31.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,959 shares of company stock worth $1,764,340 over the last 90 days. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $232.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.31 billion, a PE ratio of 39.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.39. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $218.75 and a 52 week high of $249.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $226.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.17.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.77 by $0.04. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were paid a $1.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $4.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is 70.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BDX shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $286.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.50.

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.