Baxter International Inc. $BAX Shares Purchased by Wellington Management Group LLP

Key Points

• Wellington Management increased its Baxter International stake by 276.2% in the second quarter, acquiring 100,875 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 137,400 shares valued at approximately $2.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 90.19% of BAX.
• Baxter reported quarterly EPS of $0.56, beating estimates by $0.19, while revenue rose 5.3% year over year to $2.96 billion. The company maintained fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $1.95–$2.15.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and $22.45 price target, despite several target increases and higher earnings forecasts. BAX was trading below its 50-day moving average, indicating near-term technical pressure.

Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Free Report) by 276.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,400 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 100,875 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Baxter International were worth $2,929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Baxter International by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 52,436 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 649,463 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $19,666,000 after purchasing an additional 18,439 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,638,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $231,304,000 after purchasing an additional 97,687 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in Baxter International by 21.4% during the second quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 24,356 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $737,000 after buying an additional 4,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Baxter International by 5.5% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 53,933 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,633,000 after buying an additional 2,813 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Trending Headlines about Baxter International

Here are the key news stories impacting Baxter International this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raises multiple EPS forecasts: Zacks Research increased its FY2026 estimate to $2.06 from $2.02, FY2027 to $2.07 from $2.00, and FY2028 to $2.15 from $2.11. It also raised estimates for several upcoming quarters, including Q3 2026 to $0.53, Q1 2027 to $0.45, Q2 2027 to $0.50, Q4 2027 to $0.59, and Q4 2026 to $0.62. The revisions suggest somewhat stronger expected earnings momentum for Baxter’s medical-products business. Baxter International analyst estimate revisions
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst stance remains cautious: Despite the higher forecasts, Zacks Research maintains a “Hold” rating. Its current full-year consensus estimate is $2.04 per share, meaning the revisions are positive but relatively modest and have not yet triggered a more bullish recommendation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Healthcare conference presentation: Baxter presented at the Wells Fargo 21st Annual Healthcare Conference. The available report is a transcript, but the supplied information does not identify a new financial outlook, major contract, or other specific catalyst from the event. Wells Fargo healthcare conference transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Trading and technical pressure: Reports said BAX underperformed its competitors and that technical signals pointed to limited near-term upside. The stock was recently below its 50-day moving average, reinforcing a cautious short-term trading picture, although it remained above its 200-day average. Baxter technical signals report Baxter underperformance report

Baxter International Stock Performance

NYSE:BAX opened at $24.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a PE ratio of -11.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.60. Baxter International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.73 and a fifty-two week high of $30.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $24.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.82.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 9.27% and a positive return on equity of 16.57%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. Baxter International's payout ratio is presently -1.93%.

Baxter International Company Profile

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops and supplies medical products and technologies used in hospitals, outpatient facilities, physician offices and other care settings. Its offerings include intravenous therapy products and infusion systems, injectable medications and drug-compounding technologies, surgical products, patient-monitoring systems, respiratory-care equipment, and products used in hospital beds and connected-care environments.

The company serves healthcare providers and patients in numerous countries, with operations and customers across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

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