SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 148,072 Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its position in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 94.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,192 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 148,072 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Baxter International by 73.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,862,626 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Baxter International during the second quarter valued at $140,296,000. Shapiro Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Baxter International by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 3,285,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $109,885,000 after buying an additional 541,575 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new stake in Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth about $67,263,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,206,242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $51,553,000 after acquiring an additional 84,808 shares during the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Baxter International Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of BAX stock opened at $36.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.78 billion, a PE ratio of 7.09, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.59. Baxter International Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.70 and a 52-week high of $44.01.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.02. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 16.51%. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on BAX. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Baxter International from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com cut Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI reduced 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 report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.00.

About Baxter International

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.