Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Shares Sold by Tobam

Tobam lessened its position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Free Report) by 85.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,833 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 73,071 shares during the period. Tobam's holdings in Baxter International were worth $374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $33,845,000 after purchasing an additional 21,592 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 148.8% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 870,601 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $25,387,000 after buying an additional 520,633 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 140.5% in the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 273,900 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $7,987,000 after buying an additional 160,000 shares in the last quarter. CKW Financial Group grew its holdings in Baxter International by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 2,625 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Baxter International by 99.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 16,371 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 8,179 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on BAX shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Baxter International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.90.

Baxter International Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BAX traded down $0.21 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.61. The stock had a trading volume of 4,715,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,573,179. Baxter International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.33 and a fifty-two week high of $44.01. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.38. The stock has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 153.03, a PEG ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.61. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 0.77%. Baxter International's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Baxter International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 340.02%.

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.