Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Purchases 12,773 Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,139,074 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,773 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of Baxter International worth $43,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 213.5% during the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 23,192 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $881,000 after buying an additional 15,794 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Baxter International by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,431 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219 shares during the period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the third quarter worth $114,000. National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Baxter International by 22.1% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,154,616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $43,841,000 after purchasing an additional 208,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Baxter International by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 61,878 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,257,000 after purchasing an additional 6,168 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BAX shares. StockNews.com lowered Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Baxter International from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Baxter International from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Baxter International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.91.

Baxter International Stock Performance

NYSE:BAX opened at $31.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 159.06, a PEG ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $36.99 and a 200 day moving average of $35.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Baxter International Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.60 and a 1-year high of $44.01.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. Baxter International had a net margin of 0.77% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 580.03%.

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.