Citizens & Northern Corp Sells 162 Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

Citizens & Northern Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) by 3.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,511 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 162 shares during the quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp’s holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $1,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company during the 2nd quarter worth $248,000. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,670 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,662,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.0% in the second quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.0% in the second quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 15,903 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,717,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 12.1% during the second quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 11,308 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,643,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on BDX. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James decreased their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $274.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $290.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Becton, Dickinson and Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE BDX opened at $242.41 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $233.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $236.03. The stock has a market cap of $70.07 billion, a PE ratio of 53.39, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.85. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a fifty-two week low of $218.75 and a fifty-two week high of $283.50.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.19. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 14.49% and a net margin of 7.13%. The company had revenue of $4.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.96 EPS. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 13.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.70%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $71,793.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $472,876.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Becton, Dickinson and Company 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.