Baxter International Inc. $BAX Shares Sold by Equity Investment Corp

Equity Investment Corp lowered its stake in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,595,384 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 290,881 shares during the quarter. Baxter International makes up about 2.2% of Equity Investment Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Equity Investment Corp owned about 1.27% of Baxter International worth $158,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in Baxter International by 17.1% during the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 163,934 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,934,000 after buying an additional 23,926 shares in the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Baxter International by 2,915.9% in the third quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 1,327 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the third quarter valued at $12,825,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the third quarter valued at $416,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 25.0% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 135,593 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,254,000 after acquiring an additional 27,093 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of 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. The firm has a market cap of $13.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.74, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $24.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.57. Baxter International Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.73 and a 12-month high of $30.00.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. 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 $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 6.23% and a positive return on equity of 16.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.10 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, November 27th will be issued a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 27th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is presently -2.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BAX. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Baxter International from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Baxter International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Baxter International from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Baxter International from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $23.27.

Baxter International Company Profile

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.