Short Interest in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Expands By 30.4%

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) saw a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,740,000 shares, an increase of 30.4% from the December 31st total of 12,840,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,460,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baxter International

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coho Partners Ltd. acquired a new stake in Baxter International during the third quarter valued at $57,229,000. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its position in shares of Baxter International by 148.8% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 870,601 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,387,000 after acquiring an additional 520,633 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,154,616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $43,841,000 after purchasing an additional 208,726 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 170,776 shares during the period. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in Baxter International by 140.5% in the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 273,900 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,987,000 after purchasing an additional 160,000 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BAX. StockNews.com cut shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.45.

Baxter International Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BAX opened at $32.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.65 billion, a PE ratio of 163.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.59. Baxter International has a 1 year low of $28.33 and a 1 year high of $44.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. Baxter International had a net margin of 0.77% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The company’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Baxter International will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is 340.02%.

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.