Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Buys New Shares in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC bought a new stake in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,712 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ARGA Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Baxter International during the 1st quarter valued at $10,951,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,069 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 156.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,948 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 8,517 shares during the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the first quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 31.0% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,870 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 443 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. Citigroup dropped their target price on Baxter International from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Baxter International in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Baxter International from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Baxter International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.46.

Baxter International Stock Performance

NYSE:BAX opened at $33.12 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $16.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $35.03 and its 200-day moving average is $38.62. Baxter International Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.01 and a 1-year high of $50.21.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.31%.

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.