Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Takes $2.33 Million Position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 79,841 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,328,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BAX. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,160,666 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $33,845,000 after buying an additional 21,592 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 148.8% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 870,601 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $25,387,000 after acquiring an additional 520,633 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its stake in Baxter International by 140.5% in the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 273,900 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,987,000 after acquiring an additional 160,000 shares during the period. CKW Financial Group boosted its holdings in Baxter International by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 2,625 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Baxter International by 99.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 16,371 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 8,179 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on BAX. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baxter International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.90.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Baxter International stock opened at $30.63 on Friday. Baxter International Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.33 and a twelve month high of $44.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company has a market capitalization of $15.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 153.16, a PEG ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $30.76 and its 200 day moving average is $34.43.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.85 billion. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 0.77%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 340.02%.

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.