International Assets Investment Management LLC Acquires 72,405 Shares of Baxter International Inc. $BAX

Key Points

• International Assets Investment Management LLC nearly doubled its Baxter International stake in the third quarter, acquiring 72,405 additional shares for a total of 150,000 shares valued at approximately $3.6 million.
• Baxter reported quarterly EPS of $0.58, exceeding estimates of $0.52, while revenue rose 5% year over year to $2.98 billion. The stock opened at $24.15, near analysts’ average price target of $23.00.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with one Buy, ten Hold and three Sell ratings, resulting in a consensus “Reduce” rating. Baxter also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.01 per share, equal to a 0.2% annualized yield.

International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Free Report) by 93.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 150,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 72,405 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in Baxter International were worth $3,600,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BAX. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in Baxter International in the second quarter worth about $26,000. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 52.4% during the second quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 2,153 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in shares of Baxter International during the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 552.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,413 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International during the third quarter valued at approximately $605,000. 90.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAX opened at $24.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $24.54 and a 200 day moving average of $21.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.65. Baxter International Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.73 and a 12-month high of $30.00.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.57% and a negative net margin of 9.27%. Baxter International's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.10 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 4th. Investors of record on Friday, November 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 27th. Baxter International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -2.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Baxter International from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Baxter International from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Baxter International from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays started coverage on Baxter International in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Baxter International from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baxter International presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $23.00.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc is a global medical products and healthcare technology company headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois. The company develops, manufactures and distributes products used in hospitals, clinics, ambulatory care centers and other healthcare settings.

Baxter's portfolio has included intravenous therapies and administration systems, infusion pumps, connected-care technologies, surgical products, patient monitoring equipment and products used in medication preparation and delivery.

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