Baxter International Inc. $BAX Shares Bought by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings increased its Baxter International stake by 11% in the second quarter, adding 68,302 shares and bringing its holdings to 691,167 shares valued at approximately $14.75 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 90.19% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $22.45, despite several recent rating upgrades and target-price increases.
• Baxter exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.56 EPS versus the $0.37 consensus and $2.96 billion in revenue, up 5.3% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.01 per share.

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Free Report) by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 691,167 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 68,302 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.13% of Baxter International worth $14,748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 8,014 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 695 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in Baxter International by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 4,452 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in Baxter International by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 15,968 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 160,033 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,644,000 after acquiring an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on BAX shares. Zacks Research upgraded Baxter International from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Baxter International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup upgraded Baxter International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $17.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Baxter International from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Baxter International has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.45.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BAX opened at $24.87 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.60. Baxter International Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.73 and a 52 week high of $30.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.19. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.57% and a negative net margin of 9.27%.The business had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th will be issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Baxter International's dividend payout ratio is currently -1.93%.

Baxter International Company Profile

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company's primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter's offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.

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