Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Stock Holdings Reduced by City Holding Co.

City Holding Co. cut its position in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 47.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,108 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,755 shares during the period. City Holding Co.’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $91,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First PREMIER Bank acquired a new stake in Baxter International in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Baxter International during the third quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in Baxter International by 247.3% during the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 2,622 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BAX. 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 report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Baxter International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.45.

Baxter International Trading Up 0.1 %

BAX stock opened at $30.99 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.71. 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 154.94, a P/E/G ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 0.59.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 0.77%. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 340.02%.

Baxter International 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.