OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Grows Stake in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its position in Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Free Report) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,085 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 2,045 shares during the quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp's holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $2,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BDX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,743,052 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $6,067,196,000 after purchasing an additional 184,288 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,126,707 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,751,187,000 after acquiring an additional 3,219,317 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,351,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,437,161,000 after acquiring an additional 66,024 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,175,899 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,401,126,000 after acquiring an additional 810,345 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,426,022 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,004,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,057,879 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on BDX. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $280.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $279.00 to $261.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $231.44.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Price Performance

NYSE:BDX traded up $3.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $175.37. The company had a trading volume of 2,253,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,907,627. The company has a market capitalization of $50.26 billion, a PE ratio of 29.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52-week low of $163.33 and a 52-week high of $251.99. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $203.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $220.80.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.35 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 8.47%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.04 per share. This represents a $4.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Becton, Dickinson and Company's payout ratio is currently 79.39%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Richard Byrd sold 1,940 shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.91, for a total value of $436,325.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,411 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,666,808.01. The trade was a 20.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 479 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.28, for a total value of $94,497.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $964,107.36. This trade represents a 8.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,878 shares of company stock valued at $636,393. 0.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.