Gabelli Funds LLC Has $10.24 Million Stock Holdings in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 7.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 306,200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 0.06% of Baxter International worth $10,242,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the first quarter worth about $39,000. United Community Bank bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Baxter International by 974.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,332 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in Baxter International by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,870 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Baxter International Stock Performance

NYSE BAX opened at $39.00 on Tuesday. Baxter International Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.01 and a twelve month high of $44.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $19.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.50, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.30.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.75 billion. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 16.51%. The company’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Baxter International’s payout ratio is presently 22.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Baxter International from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.