Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Shares Sold by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Free Report) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 644,430 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 64,839 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.13% of Baxter International worth $18,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 13.0% in the 4th 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,446,939 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $362,006,000 after purchasing an additional 290,279 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,548,215 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $74,306,000 after purchasing an additional 662,042 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc. CT purchased a new stake in Baxter International in the 4th quarter valued at about $72,450,000. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAX has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Argus raised shares of Baxter International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Baxter International from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Baxter International presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.25.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAX traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 727,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,456,650. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $30.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $15.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.63. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Baxter International's 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.