Argent Trust Co Buys 684 Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Argent Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,073 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Baxter International during the 2nd quarter valued at $140,296,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 73.2% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $67,263,000. Carmignac Gestion boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 9.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Baxter International during the first quarter valued at approximately $10,951,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Baxter International stock opened at $38.49 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.40, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.59. Baxter International Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.01 and a 12-month high of $44.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

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

Baxter International Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Baxter International’s payout ratio is currently 22.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on BAX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI cut 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. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Baxter International from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $39.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Baxter International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.73.

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.