Pzena Investment Management LLC Invests $1.39 Billion in Baxter International Inc. $BAX

Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 65,295,393 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,392,098,000. Baxter International makes up about 4.1% of Pzena Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned about 0.13% of Baxter International as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BAX. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Baxter International during the second quarter worth $1,744,874,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Baxter International in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,167,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Baxter International in the 2nd quarter valued at $246,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the 2nd quarter valued at $14,064,000. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,522,000. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on BAX shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Baxter International from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Baxter International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Baxter International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $17.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Baxter International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.45.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Shares of BAX opened at $25.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $13.39 billion, a PE ratio of -12.51, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $23.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.32. Baxter International Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.73 and a 1 year high of $30.00.

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

Baxter International Announces Dividend

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

About Baxter International

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.