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

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,641 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BAX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Baxter International by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Baxter International by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 61,878 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,257,000 after buying an additional 6,168 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Baxter International by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,431 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $244,000 after buying an additional 1,219 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in Baxter International by 213.5% during the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 23,192 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $881,000 after buying an additional 15,794 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Baxter International by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,139,074 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $43,251,000 after buying an additional 12,773 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Baxter International in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Baxter International in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baxter International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.33.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Baxter International stock opened at $36.61 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.05. The company has a market cap of $18.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Baxter International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.33 and a fifty-two week high of $44.01.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -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.