Pointe Capital Management LLC Has $320,000 Position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Pointe Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 57.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,978 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,019 shares during the period. Pointe Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,160,666 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $33,845,000 after purchasing an additional 21,592 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. acquired a new position in Baxter International during the fourth quarter worth $907,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Baxter International by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,156,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $460,022,000 after buying an additional 170,776 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP raised its holdings in Baxter International by 213.5% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 23,192 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $881,000 after buying an additional 15,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Baxter International by 15.4% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 170,855 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,487,000 after buying an additional 22,787 shares during the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Baxter International Stock Performance

NYSE:BAX opened at $36.00 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $30.89 and its 200-day moving average is $34.07. The company has a market cap of $18.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.13, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.43. Baxter International Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.33 and a 52-week high of $44.01.

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

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given 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 1.89%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -53.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Barclays started coverage on Baxter International in a report on Thursday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.80.

Baxter International 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.