M&R Capital Management Inc. Purchases 390 Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

M&R Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,480 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 390 shares during the quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Baxter International by 17.4% in the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,408 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Shapiro Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 3,285,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $109,885,000 after purchasing an additional 541,575 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 306,200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $10,242,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Baxter International by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 54,334 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,817,000 after purchasing an additional 13,869 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 10.7% during the second quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 7,073 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Baxter International from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley lowered Baxter International from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $39.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

Baxter International Stock Performance

BAX opened at $35.97 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $37.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.10. The company has a market cap of $18.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Baxter International Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.01 and a 52-week high of $44.01.

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

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.31%.

About Baxter International

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.