Citizens & Northern Corp Purchases 111 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Citizens & Northern Corp increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,004 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Citizens & Northern Corp’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BDX. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,953,116 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,364,096,000 after purchasing an additional 106,616 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,285,513 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,510,050,000 after acquiring an additional 111,101 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,365,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,293,635,000 after acquiring an additional 460,440 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 79.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,986,543 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $720,089,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,844,566 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $647,082,000 after purchasing an additional 673,568 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE BDX opened at $224.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a one year low of $218.75 and a one year high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.43. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 15.74%. Research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical instruments supplier to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Roland Goette sold 4,483 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,380,488.45. This trade represents a 15.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 2,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.33, for a total value of $633,810.54. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,141 shares in the company, valued at $1,371,469.53. The trade was a 31.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,544 shares of company stock worth $2,370,309 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BDX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $275.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays increased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $278.00 to $279.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Becton, Dickinson and Company from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.29.

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.