Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 73,473 Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 33.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 291,102 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 73,473 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $8,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the third quarter worth about $38,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 60.8% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the third quarter worth about $62,000. CKW Financial Group grew its position in Baxter International by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 2,200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Baxter International by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Baxter International in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Baxter International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.80.

Baxter International Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of BAX stock opened at $33.87 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.65 and a 200-day moving average of $34.12. The firm has a market cap of $17.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.46, a PEG ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 0.61. Baxter International Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.33 and a 12-month high of $44.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 5.05% and a positive return on equity of 16.67%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -53.13%.

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.