E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Acquires New Holdings in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 11,641 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Baxter International by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,160,666 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $33,845,000 after purchasing an additional 21,592 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. bought a new stake in Baxter International in the fourth quarter worth $907,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Baxter International by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,156,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $460,022,000 after purchasing an additional 170,776 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Baxter International by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 15,359,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $447,870,000 after purchasing an additional 2,803,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP lifted its stake in Baxter International by 213.5% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 23,192 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 15,794 shares during the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on BAX. StockNews.com cut shares of Baxter International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Baxter International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.56.

Baxter International Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE BAX traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $35.84. 4,151,378 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,229,480. Baxter International Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.34 and a 12-month high of $43.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.02. The firm has a market cap of $18.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.60.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 5.05% and a positive return on equity of 16.67%. The business had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. As a group, analysts expect 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 paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Baxter International's payout ratio is currently -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.