Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Sells 2,337 Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lowered its holdings in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,500 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,337 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Baxter International by 1.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 21,592 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Baxter International by 22.1% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,154,616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $43,841,000 after acquiring an additional 208,726 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Baxter International by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,113,125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,459,000 after acquiring an additional 13,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 148.8% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 870,601 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,387,000 after acquiring an additional 520,633 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Baxter International in a research report on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Baxter International from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Baxter International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.80.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of BAX opened at $33.87 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.12. The firm has a market cap of $17.29 billion, a PE ratio of -26.46, a P/E/G ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Baxter International Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.33 and a 1-year high of $44.01.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.67% and a negative net margin of 5.05%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is -53.13%.

Baxter International Company 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.