Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL Reduces Stake in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL lessened its holdings in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,585 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Baxter International by 73.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,772,533 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $226,541,000 after buying an additional 2,862,626 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Baxter International in the second quarter valued at $140,296,000. Shapiro Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Baxter International by 19.7% in the second quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 3,285,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $109,885,000 after acquiring an additional 541,575 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new position in Baxter International in the second quarter valued at $67,263,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 7.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,206,242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $51,553,000 after purchasing an additional 84,808 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of Baxter International stock opened at $36.91 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $18.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.59. Baxter International Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.01 and a 52-week high of $44.01. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.11.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.02. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 16.51%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Baxter International’s payout ratio is currently 22.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Baxter International from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Baxter International from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Baxter International from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $39.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.00.

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.