Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Trims Stock Holdings in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lowered its holdings in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,177 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Baxter International by 73.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,772,533 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $226,541,000 after acquiring an additional 2,862,626 shares during the period. Carmignac Gestion raised its stake in shares of Baxter International by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 5,311,012 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,324,000 after purchasing an additional 462,239 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Baxter International during the 2nd quarter worth about $140,296,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new position in Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth about $67,263,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Baxter International by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,206,242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $51,553,000 after buying an additional 84,808 shares in the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Baxter International Trading Down 1.5 %

BAX stock opened at $38.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.75 billion, a PE ratio of 7.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.40. Baxter International Inc. has a one year low of $31.01 and a one year high of $44.01. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $36.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.43.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.02. Baxter International had a net margin of 16.51% and a return on equity of 18.06%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Baxter International from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Baxter International from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.73.

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.