National Pension Service Boosts Stake in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

National Pension Service raised its position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 22.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,154,616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 208,726 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.23% of Baxter International worth $43,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 43,751 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 4.6% in the second quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,759 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp increased its stake in Baxter International by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,235 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the period. M&R Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Baxter International by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,480 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Baxter International by 6.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,517 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on BAX shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Baxter International from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Baxter International from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley downgraded 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. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.20.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of BAX opened at $36.12 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.16. The stock has a market cap of $18.43 billion, a PE ratio of 7.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.60. Baxter International Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.48 and a 1-year high of $44.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

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.