Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in Baxter International Inc. $BAX

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,510,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 972,891 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $257,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the third quarter worth about $27,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in shares of Baxter International by 138.0% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 2,877 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Baxter International by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Baxter International by 1,188.3% during the third quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 3,865 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 3,565 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Baxter International in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Evercore cut their target price on Baxter International from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Baxter International from $20.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Baxter International from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Baxter International presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $19.73.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of Baxter International stock opened at $18.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $17.69 and a 200 day moving average of $18.78. Baxter International Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.73 and a 12 month high of $32.04. The firm has a market cap of $9.63 billion, a PE ratio of -8.75, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.15% and a negative net margin of 9.70%.The company had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1.88%.

Baxter International Profile

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company’s primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter’s offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.