Baxter International Inc. $BAX Stock: Aberdeen Group plc Raises Holdings

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its Baxter International holdings by 16,776.9% in the third quarter, adding about 3.72 million shares to hold 3.74 million shares, worth roughly $89.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.19% of the company.
• Baxter reported quarterly EPS of $0.58, topping the $0.52 consensus, while revenue of $2.98 billion exceeded estimates and rose 5% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: MarketBeat’s consensus rating is “Reduce,” with an average price target of $23.27, below the stock’s cited trading price of $25.77.

Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Free Report) by 16,776.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,743,975 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 3,721,791 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.72% of Baxter International worth $89,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BAX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,744,874,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter worth about $1,392,098,000. Equity Investment Corp bought a new position in Baxter International in the 2nd quarter valued at $146,815,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth about $132,993,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth $68,036,000. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company's stock.

Baxter International Stock Performance

NYSE BAX traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $25.77. 4,491,214 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,506,119. Baxter International Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.73 and a 52 week high of $30.00. The business's fifty day moving average price is $24.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.06. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.23% and a negative net margin of 6.23%. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. Baxter International's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.10 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, November 27th will be issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 27th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Baxter International's dividend payout ratio is currently -2.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BAX. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Baxter International from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Baxter International from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Baxter International from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $23.27.

Baxter International Profile

Baxter International is a global healthcare company that develops and supplies products used in hospitals, clinics and other care settings. Its offerings include intravenous solutions and administration sets, infusion pumps, medication-delivery systems, and products for surgical and hospital care. The company also provides patient-monitoring and connected-care technologies, including products associated with Hillrom, which Baxter acquired in 2021. Its products and services support healthcare professionals and patients in countries around the world.

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