Bard Financial Services Inc. Makes New $962,000 Investment in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Bard Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 28,090 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $962,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BAX. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Baxter International by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,160,666 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $33,845,000 after buying an additional 21,592 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the 4th quarter valued at about $907,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Baxter International by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 15,359,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $447,870,000 after buying an additional 2,803,920 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox raised its position in shares of Baxter International by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 50,377,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,469,002,000 after buying an additional 5,779,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Baxter International by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,745,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $50,904,000 after buying an additional 502,370 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of BAX stock opened at $31.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.39. Baxter International Inc. has a one year low of $26.25 and a one year high of $40.49. The company has a market capitalization of $16.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.61.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.14. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 5.05% and a positive return on equity of 16.67%. The firm had revenue of $2.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is presently -61.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BAX shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Baxter International from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Baxter International from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Argus upgraded shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Baxter International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.25.

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.