Empowered Funds LLC Makes New $1.24 Million Investment in Baxter International Inc. $BAX

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 58,161 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,240,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,744,874,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth $1,392,098,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,510,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $257,174,000 after purchasing an additional 972,891 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 1.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,638,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $231,304,000 after buying an additional 97,687 shares during the period. Finally, Equity Investment Corp bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $146,815,000. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Baxter International Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE BAX opened at $25.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Baxter International Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.73 and a 52 week high of $30.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.47, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $24.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.72.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 9.27% and a positive return on equity of 16.57%. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is presently -1.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Baxter International from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Baxter International from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Baxter International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.45.

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.