Farther Finance Advisors LLC Acquires 475 Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $96,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First PREMIER Bank bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 974.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,332 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Stock Performance

BAX opened at $34.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 171.11, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.60. Baxter International Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.48 and a 1-year high of $44.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its earnings results 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 16.51% and a return on equity of 18.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. Baxter International’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is 580.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research 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 an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.91.

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.