Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Purchases New Shares in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 39,437 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,319,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Baxter International by 73.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,772,533 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $226,541,000 after acquiring an additional 2,862,626 shares in the last quarter. Carmignac Gestion raised its position in Baxter International by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 5,311,012 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $205,324,000 after purchasing an additional 462,239 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Baxter International during the 2nd quarter worth $140,296,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Baxter International by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,206,242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $51,553,000 after buying an additional 84,808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cincinnati Insurance Co. increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Cincinnati Insurance Co. now owns 722,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $30,858,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of BAX opened at $39.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.26 billion, a PE ratio of 7.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.48. Baxter International Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.01 and a 52-week high of $44.01.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.02. Baxter International had a net margin of 16.51% and a return on equity of 18.06%. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAX has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup cut their price target on Baxter International from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Baxter International from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Baxter International from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.73.

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.