Legal & General Group Plc Purchases New Position in Baxter International Inc. $BAX

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 974,554 Baxter International shares during the second quarter, worth approximately $20.8 million and representing about 0.19% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 90.19% of Baxter’s stock.
• Baxter reported quarterly earnings of $0.56 per share, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.37, while revenue rose 5.3% year over year to $2.96 billion. The company maintained fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $1.95–$2.15.
• Baxter shares opened at $26.13, above their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, but analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $22.45. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.01 per share.

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 974,554 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $20,777,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.19% of Baxter International at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 3.2% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 52,436 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Baxter International by 2.9% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 649,463 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $19,666,000 after buying an additional 18,439 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 1.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,638,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $231,304,000 after buying an additional 97,687 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in Baxter International by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 24,356 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 4,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Baxter International by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 53,933 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 2,813 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company's stock.

Baxter International Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of BAX stock opened at $26.13 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $24.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.55. Baxter International Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.73 and a 1-year high of $30.00. The company has a market cap of $13.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 9.27% and a positive return on equity of 16.57%. Baxter International's revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Baxter International's payout ratio is -1.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on BAX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Baxter International from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Baxter International from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Baxter International from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $22.45.

About Baxter International

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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