Baxter International Inc. $BAX Shares Newly Purchased by CenterBook Partners LP

CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 31,435 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $754,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Calamos Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Baxter International by 32.8% in the third quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 238,341 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,720,000 after buying an additional 58,850 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 16.1% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 38,003 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $912,000 after acquiring an additional 5,256 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Baxter International by 37.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 171,400 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,114,000 after acquiring an additional 46,535 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Baxter International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $766,000. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Baxter International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,390,000. 90.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on BAX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Baxter International from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Baxter International from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $28.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Baxter International from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Baxter International has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $23.27.

Baxter International Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:BAX opened at $26.42 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. Baxter International Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.73 and a 12 month high of $30.00. The company has a market cap of $13.67 billion, a PE ratio of 13.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.57.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.23% and a negative net margin of 6.23%. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.10 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 27th will be given a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 27th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -2.84%.

About Baxter International

Baxter International is a global healthcare company that develops and supplies products used in hospitals, clinics and other care settings. Its offerings include intravenous solutions and administration sets, infusion pumps, medication-delivery systems, and products for surgical and hospital care. The company also provides patient-monitoring and connected-care technologies, including products associated with Hillrom, which Baxter acquired in 2021. Its products and services support healthcare professionals and patients in countries around the world.