Private Trust Co. NA Reduces Position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Private Trust Co. NA trimmed its holdings in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 35.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,257 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,827 shares during the quarter. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $95,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BAX. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Baxter International by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 15,359,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $447,870,000 after acquiring an additional 2,803,920 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 148.8% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 870,601 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,387,000 after purchasing an additional 520,633 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its holdings 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 worth $43,841,000 after purchasing an additional 208,726 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Baxter International by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,156,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $460,022,000 after buying an additional 170,776 shares during the period. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 140.5% during the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 273,900 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,987,000 after buying an additional 160,000 shares in the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on BAX. Argus upgraded shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Baxter International in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Baxter International in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Baxter International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.00.

Baxter International Trading Down 0.2 %

BAX opened at $34.80 on Wednesday. Baxter International Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.33 and a 12 month high of $44.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.04. The firm has a market cap of $17.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.18, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.06. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 5.05% and a positive return on equity of 16.67%. The business had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -53.13%.

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.