DNB Asset Management AS Has $1.68 Million Stock Position in Baxter International Inc. $BAX

DNB Asset Management AS decreased its stake in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 77.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 87,918 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 310,200 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $1,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its position in Baxter International by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,200,860 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,114,000 after buying an additional 450,350 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Baxter International by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,515,928 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,243,000 after buying an additional 615,100 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Baxter International during the 3rd quarter worth about $143,186,000. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Baxter International during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,128,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Baxter International by 477.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,725,251 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,970,000 after buying an additional 1,426,547 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Baxter International stock opened at $18.80 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. Baxter International Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.73 and a 1 year high of $32.04. The company has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a PE ratio of -8.83, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50-day moving average is $17.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.72.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.15% and a negative net margin of 9.70%.Baxter International’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is -1.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BAX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $17.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Baxter International from $20.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Baxter International in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Baxter International from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Baxter International has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $19.91.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company’s primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter’s offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.