Cooke & Bieler LP Has $63.38 Million Stock Position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Cooke & Bieler LP reduced its position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,894,870 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 20,530 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP owned about 0.37% of Baxter International worth $63,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the 1st quarter worth $39,000. United Community Bank bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 974.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,332 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,870 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on BAX. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.73.

Baxter International Price Performance

NYSE BAX traded down $0.16 on Wednesday, reaching $37.69. The company had a trading volume of 687,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,183,239. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.21 billion, a PE ratio of 7.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $35.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.58. Baxter International Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.01 and a 12 month high of $44.01.

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

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. Baxter International’s payout ratio is 22.31%.

Baxter International 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.