Pacer Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,334 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,869 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $1,817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAX. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in Baxter International by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,069 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Baxter International by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 43,751 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Baxter International by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,759 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp lifted its position in shares of Baxter International by 20.8% during the second quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,235 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in Baxter International by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,870 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Stock Performance

NYSE BAX opened at $38.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.43, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50 day moving average is $37.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.27. Baxter International Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.01 and a 12-month high of $44.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.75 billion. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 16.51%. Baxter International’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Baxter International’s payout ratio is currently 22.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Baxter International from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley cut Baxter International from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $39.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baxter International has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.73.

Baxter International Company 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.