Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Grows Stock Holdings in Baxter International Inc. $BAX

Key Points

• Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its stake in Baxter International Inc. by 19.4%, acquiring 30,700 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 188,673 shares, valued at approximately $6.46 million.
• Multiple hedge funds, including Zions Bancorporation and MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust, also increased their positions in Baxter International in the first quarter, reflecting growing institutional interest in the company.
• Brokerage firms have revised their ratings on Baxter, with Barclays and Goldman Sachs lowering target prices, indicating a shift in market perception as analysts now have a consensus rating of "Hold" for the stock.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Free Report) by 19.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 188,673 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 30,700 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in Baxter International were worth $6,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BAX. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 2.1% in the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 51,458,925 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,761,439,000 after acquiring an additional 1,081,631 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its stake in Baxter International by 52.5% in the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 1,327,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $45,456,000 after purchasing an additional 457,345 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 384,437 shares in the last quarter. Parkwood LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the fourth quarter worth $10,747,000. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc. CT increased its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 13.7% in the first quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 2,825,902 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $96,731,000 after purchasing an additional 341,321 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Baxter International Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Baxter International stock traded up $0.32 during trading on Monday, reaching $24.72. 4,048,480 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,613,235. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The stock's fifty day moving average is $26.91 and its 200 day moving average is $29.95. The firm has a market cap of $12.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -82.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.60. Baxter International Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.33 and a 1 year high of $40.49.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.82 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.96% and a negative net margin of 1.42%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. Baxter International has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 0.580-0.620 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 2.420-2.520 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Baxter International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -226.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BAX. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Baxter International from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Baxter International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup reduced their target price on Baxter International from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Baxter International from $33.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.11.

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.