Ameriprise Financial Inc. Cuts Stake in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its stake in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Free Report) by 23.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,456,969 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 2,346,164 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 1.46% of Baxter International worth $217,452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in Baxter International by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 50,377,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,469,002,000 after acquiring an additional 5,779,100 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Baxter International by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 15,359,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $447,870,000 after purchasing an additional 2,803,920 shares in the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT purchased a new position in Baxter International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $72,450,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its holdings in Baxter International by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,548,215 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $74,306,000 after buying an additional 662,042 shares during the period. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 520,633 shares in the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BAX. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Baxter International from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Baxter International from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on Baxter International from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Baxter International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.56.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Baxter International stock opened at $30.47 on Tuesday. Baxter International Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.25 and a 52 week high of $40.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.96 and a 200-day moving average of $32.11.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $2.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.59 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 5.05% and a positive return on equity of 16.67%. The firm's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Baxter International's dividend payout ratio is currently -53.13%.

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.

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