Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Acquires 59,180 Shares of Baxter International Inc. $BAX

Key Points

• Rakuten Investment Management opened a Baxter International position in the third quarter, buying 59,180 shares valued at about $1.39 million; institutional investors collectively own 90.19% of the company’s stock.
• Baxter reported quarterly EPS of $0.58, beating the $0.52 estimate, and revenue of $2.98 billion, up 5% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.01 per share.
• Analyst sentiment was mostly cautious: 10 analysts rated the stock Hold, three Sell, and one Buy, with an average price target of $23.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 59,180 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $1,390,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BAX. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Baxter International during the second quarter valued at $1,392,098,000. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Baxter International in the second quarter valued at about $30,604,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Baxter International in the second quarter valued at about $1,744,874,000. AMG National Trust Bank acquired a new position in Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,522,000. Finally, Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth about $51,958,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company's stock.

Baxter International Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of BAX stock opened at $25.73 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $24.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.51. Baxter International Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.73 and a twelve month high of $30.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.79. The company has a market capitalization of $13.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.25, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.68.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.06. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.23% and a negative net margin of 6.23%. The company had revenue of $2.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.10 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BAX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Baxter International from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Baxter International in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Baxter International from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $23.00.

About Baxter International

Baxter International is a global healthcare company that develops and supplies products used in hospitals, clinics and other care settings. Its offerings include intravenous solutions and administration sets, infusion pumps, medication-delivery systems, and products for surgical and hospital care.

The company also provides patient-monitoring and connected-care technologies, including products associated with Hillrom, which Baxter acquired in 2021. Its products and services support healthcare professionals and patients in countries around the world.

Founded in 1931, Baxter began by producing intravenous solutions.

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