Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Shares Bought by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 232,651 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,832 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $8,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BAX. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Baxter International by 33.8% in the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 1,785 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Baxter International by 69.0% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,491,343 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $244,983,000 after purchasing an additional 2,650,959 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Baxter International by 8.2% during the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,214 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC lifted its stake in Baxter International by 154.7% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 13,573 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 8,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association bought a new stake in Baxter International in the third quarter valued at $614,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BAX. UBS Group lowered their target price on Baxter International from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Baxter International from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Baxter International from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Baxter International from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.30.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAX opened at $40.93 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.50. Baxter International Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.01 and a 52 week high of $50.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.79 billion, a PE ratio of 7.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.62.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.02. Baxter International had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 17.77%. The firm had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Baxter International’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Baxter International Company 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.