Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Shares Acquired by Forsta AP Fonden

Forsta AP Fonden boosted its holdings in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 140.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 273,900 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 160,000 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $7,987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAX. M&R Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Baxter International by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,480 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. CKW Financial Group boosted its stake in Baxter International by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 2,625 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 6.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,517 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 23.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 60.8% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Baxter International Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Baxter International stock opened at $33.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 165.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 0.59. Baxter International Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.33 and a 52-week high of $44.01. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.85 billion. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 0.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is 340.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baxter International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.45.

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.