GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Stake in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,517 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 9.6% during the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 286,200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $12,232,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in Baxter International in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,185,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Baxter International by 7.6% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,206,242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $51,553,000 after purchasing an additional 84,808 shares during the period. Wintrust Investments LLC lifted its stake in Baxter International by 76.8% during the first quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 41,708 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 18,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Baxter International by 8.7% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 217,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,263,000 after buying an additional 17,450 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Baxter International Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE BAX opened at $37.03 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.91. The company has a market capitalization of $18.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.59. Baxter International Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.01 and a 1 year high of $44.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.02. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 16.51%. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on BAX. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Baxter International from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Baxter International from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.00.

Baxter International Company Profile

Baxter International Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops and provides a portfolio of healthcare products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Medical Products and Therapies, Healthcare Systems and Technologies, Pharmaceuticals, and Kidney Care. The company offers sterile intravenous (IV) solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition therapies; generic injectable pharmaceuticals; surgical hemostat and sealant products, advanced surgical equipment; smart bed systems; patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies; and respiratory health devices, as well as advanced equipment for the surgical space, including surgical video technologies, precision positioning devices, and other accessories.