Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Holdings Increased by Sound Shore Management Inc. CT

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT increased its holdings in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Free Report) by 13.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,825,902 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 341,321 shares during the period. Baxter International accounts for 3.4% of Sound Shore Management Inc. CT's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT owned 0.55% of Baxter International worth $96,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BAX. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,779,100 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Baxter International by 40.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,745,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $50,904,000 after buying an additional 502,370 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its stake in shares of Baxter International by 52.5% during the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 1,327,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $45,456,000 after buying an additional 457,345 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Baxter International by 11,821.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 387,689 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $13,271,000 after buying an additional 384,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkwood LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the fourth quarter worth $10,747,000. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Baxter International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Baxter International from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Baxter International from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.38.

Baxter International Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:BAX traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $29.23. 4,031,150 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,666,913. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $30.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.17. The company has a market cap of $15.00 billion, a PE ratio of -26.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.61. Baxter International Inc. has a 12 month low of $26.25 and a 12 month high of $40.49.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.14. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 4.71% and a positive return on equity of 17.24%. The business had revenue of $2.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Baxter International's dividend payout ratio is currently -61.82%.

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.