Equity Investment Corp Takes Position in Baxter International Inc. $BAX

Equity Investment Corp acquired a new stake in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 6,886,265 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $146,815,000. Baxter International accounts for about 2.8% of Equity Investment Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Baxter International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new position in Baxter International in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 552.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,413 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,043 shares in the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Citigroup upgraded Baxter International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $28.00 in a report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Baxter International from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on Baxter International from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Baxter International from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.45.

Baxter International Price Performance

NYSE:BAX opened at $25.98 on Wednesday. Baxter International Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.73 and a 52-week high of $30.00. The company has a market cap of $13.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.95. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.22.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.57% and a negative net margin of 9.27%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Baxter International’s payout ratio is currently -1.93%.

Baxter International Company 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.