Farther Finance Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 61.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,060 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,541 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BAX. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in shares of Baxter International by 21.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 33,071 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,256,000 after purchasing an additional 5,931 shares in the last quarter. CKW Financial Group grew its position in Baxter International by 100.0% in the third quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 2,200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in Baxter International by 60.8% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 170,776 shares during the period. Finally, Empire Financial Management Company LLC grew its position in Baxter International by 263.3% in the third quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 26,907 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,022,000 after acquiring an additional 19,500 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on Baxter International from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Baxter International from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Argus upgraded Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Baxter International in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Baxter International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.56.

Baxter International Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE BAX opened at $33.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.15, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.60. 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 12-month low of $28.34 and a 12-month high of $43.99. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.90.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.75 billion for 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Baxter International’s payout ratio 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.