Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Shares Bought by ARGA Investment Management LP

ARGA Investment Management LP grew its position in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 148.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 870,601 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 520,633 shares during the quarter. Baxter International makes up approximately 0.8% of ARGA Investment Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. ARGA Investment Management LP’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $25,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Baxter International by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,156,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $460,022,000 after buying an additional 170,776 shares during the last quarter. Coho Partners Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the third quarter valued at approximately $57,229,000. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 22.1% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,154,616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $43,841,000 after acquiring an additional 208,726 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Baxter International by 1.1% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,139,074 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $43,251,000 after acquiring an additional 12,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 140.5% in the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 273,900 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,987,000 after acquiring an additional 160,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Baxter International has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.45.

Baxter International Stock Performance

NYSE BAX opened at $31.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 157.13, a PEG ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.53. Baxter International Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.33 and a 12-month high of $44.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

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

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 340.02%.

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.