Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 114,328 Shares of Baxter International Inc. $BAX

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 45.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 135,500 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 114,328 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $2,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 10.1% in the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 57,396,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,306,915,000 after purchasing an additional 5,274,750 shares during the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 70.0% in the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 10,693,223 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $204,347,000 after purchasing an additional 4,404,874 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 1.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,638,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $231,304,000 after purchasing an additional 97,687 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 32.4% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,515,928 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,243,000 after purchasing an additional 615,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 25.7% in the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,200,860 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,114,000 after purchasing an additional 450,350 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Baxter International News

Here are the key news stories impacting Baxter International this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Baxter’s shares are showing signs of a technical bottoming pattern after a steep healthcare-sector selloff, which could attract short-term buyers looking for a rebound. Baxter Stock Is Testing a Bottom After Healthcare Sector Decimation
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Zacks Research raised some near- and medium-term earnings estimates, including Q1 2028, Q4 2026, and Q2 2027, suggesting expectations for parts of Baxter’s earnings outlook are improving.
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite those higher estimates in a few periods, Zacks still maintains a “Strong Sell” rating on Baxter, so the broader analyst stance remains cautious.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks also cut estimates for several key periods, including Q2 2026, Q3 2026, FY2026, Q3 2027, and FY2027, reinforcing concerns that earnings momentum may remain uneven.
• Negative Sentiment: The latest round of revisions keeps Baxter’s FY2026 forecast below the current consensus, which may weigh on sentiment if investors focus on softer near-term profitability.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Baxter International from $20.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Baxter International from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $19.91.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Shares of BAX stock opened at $19.19 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.48 and a 200 day moving average of $18.73. Baxter International Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.73 and a 52 week high of $32.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.01, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.15% and a negative net margin of 9.70%.The company had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1.88%.

Baxter International Company Profile

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company’s primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter’s offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.