Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in Baxter International Inc. $BAX

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its Baxter International stake by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, adding 972,891 shares to bring its total to 13.5 million shares worth about $257.2 million.
• Baxter reported quarterly earnings of $0.36 per share, beating estimates, and revenue of $2.70 billion, also above expectations, though profit remained negative on a net margin basis.
• The stock has attracted mixed Wall Street views, with analysts assigning an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $19.73, while the shares recently traded around $18.65.

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Free Report) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,510,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 972,891 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.63% of Baxter International worth $257,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allstate Corp increased its position in Baxter International by 95.9% during the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 37,162 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $710,000 after acquiring an additional 18,192 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in Baxter International by 138.0% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 2,877 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Baxter International by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 8,014 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in Baxter International by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 74,075 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 8,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in Baxter International by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 391,250 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $7,477,000 after acquiring an additional 35,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company's stock.

Baxter International Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE BAX opened at $18.65 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $17.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. Baxter International Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.73 and a 52 week high of $32.04. The company has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.64.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.05. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.15% and a negative net margin of 9.70%.The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Baxter International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Baxter International from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Baxter International from $17.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $20.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Baxter International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Baxter International has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $19.73.

Baxter International Company Profile

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company's primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter's offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.

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