Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Shares Sold by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 56.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,252 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 4,265 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $95,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Baxter International by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,156,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $460,022,000 after buying an additional 170,776 shares in the last quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 541,575 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter valued at $67,263,000. Coho Partners Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the third quarter valued at $57,229,000. Finally, National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Baxter International by 22.1% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,154,616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $43,841,000 after buying an additional 208,726 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.45.

Baxter International Stock Down 0.6 %

Baxter International stock opened at $29.41 on Friday. Baxter International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.33 and a fifty-two week high of $44.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 147.06, a PEG ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.79.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 0.77%. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is currently 340.00%.

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.