Huntington National Bank Trims Stock Position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Huntington National Bank trimmed its stake in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 20.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,470 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 5,566 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BAX. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 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 approximately $907,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 170,776 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Baxter International by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 15,359,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $447,870,000 after buying an additional 2,803,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings 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 valued at $6,487,000 after acquiring an additional 22,787 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAX has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Baxter International from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus upgraded Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Baxter International in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.56.

Baxter International Trading Down 8.2 %

NYSE:BAX opened at $28.77 on Friday. Baxter International Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.34 and a 1 year high of $42.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $33.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.48, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.60.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.06. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 5.05% and a positive return on equity of 16.67%. The business had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is currently -53.13%.

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.