Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Sells 51,066 Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Free Report) by 45.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,208 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 51,066 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings in Baxter International were worth $1,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Baxter International by 1.9% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 21,592 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. bought a new position in Baxter International during the fourth quarter valued at $907,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Baxter International by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,156,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $460,022,000 after purchasing an additional 170,776 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Baxter International by 22.3% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 2,803,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP lifted its position in Baxter International by 213.5% during the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 23,192 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $881,000 after purchasing an additional 15,794 shares during the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BAX shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Baxter International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company 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. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Baxter International in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.33.

Baxter International Stock Up 3.3 %

NYSE BAX traded up $1.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $36.61. 4,549,661 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,963,440. 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 firm has a market cap of $18.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.60. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $31.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.06. Baxter International Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.33 and a 12-month high of $44.01.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.75 billion for 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Baxter International's payout ratio is -53.13%.

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.