Sandy Spring Bank Reduces Holdings in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Sandy Spring Bank reduced its holdings in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 28.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,448 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,397 shares during the quarter. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $101,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAX. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Baxter International by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 15,359,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $447,870,000 after acquiring an additional 2,803,920 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,548,215 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $74,306,000 after buying an additional 662,042 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 148.8% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 870,601 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $25,387,000 after buying an additional 520,633 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 41.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,319,274 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,037,000 after buying an additional 384,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 1.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BAX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Baxter International from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Argus upgraded shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Baxter International in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.56.

Baxter International Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of BAX stock opened at $33.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.60. 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 Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.34 and a fifty-two week high of $43.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $32.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.87.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 5.05% and a positive return on equity of 16.67%. On average, analysts anticipate that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -53.13%.

About Baxter International

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.