Sound Shore Management Inc. CT Purchases Shares of 2,484,581 Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,484,581 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $72,450,000. Baxter International accounts for approximately 2.4% of Sound Shore Management Inc. CT’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Baxter International by 22.3% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 2,803,920 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 1.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 170,776 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 35.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 662,042 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,319,274 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,037,000 after acquiring an additional 384,349 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,160,666 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $33,845,000 after acquiring an additional 21,592 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Baxter International in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. Argus raised Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Baxter International from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays increased their price target on Baxter International from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Baxter International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.56.

Baxter International Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of BAX stock opened at $33.22 on Monday. Baxter International Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.34 and a 1 year high of $43.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.81. The company has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a PE ratio of -25.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

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

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.