6,450 Shares in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Purchased by Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s.

Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new position in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $188,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Baxter International by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 15,359,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $447,870,000 after acquiring an additional 2,803,920 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 worth $460,022,000 after acquiring an additional 170,776 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Baxter International by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,160,666 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $33,845,000 after acquiring an additional 21,592 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Baxter International by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,113,125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,459,000 after acquiring an additional 13,424 shares during the period. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP increased its stake in Baxter International by 148.8% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 870,601 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $25,387,000 after purchasing an additional 520,633 shares in the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BAX. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays began coverage on Baxter International in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Baxter International from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.33.

Baxter International Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE BAX opened at $36.61 on Monday. Baxter International Inc. has a one year low of $28.33 and a one year high of $44.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a PE ratio of -28.60, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $31.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.03.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.67% and a negative net margin of 5.05%. As a group, analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is -53.13%.

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.