Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Decreases Stock Position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. cut its position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,232 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,432 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BAX. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Baxter International by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. bought a new position in Baxter International during the 4th quarter valued at $232,000. S&CO Inc. bought a new position in Baxter International during the 4th quarter valued at $1,308,000. United Community Bank bought a new position in Baxter International during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Carmignac Gestion boosted its stake in Baxter International by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 5,311,012 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,324,000 after acquiring an additional 462,239 shares during the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Baxter International from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.73.

Baxter International Stock Down 1.1 %

BAX stock opened at $39.81 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. Baxter International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.01 and a fifty-two week high of $44.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.41. The stock has a market cap of $20.29 billion, a PE ratio of 7.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Baxter International’s payout ratio is 22.31%.

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.