Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Baxter International Inc. $BAX

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. slashed its Baxter International stake by 97.7% in the first quarter, selling over 1.25 million shares and leaving it with 29,317 shares valued at about $493,000.
• Baxter reported quarterly earnings of $0.36 per share on $2.70 billion in revenue, topping Wall Street estimates, while revenue rose 2.9% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed to cautious: Goldman Sachs lifted its price target to $21, but Zacks cut estimates and downgraded the stock to Strong Sell; the consensus rating is still Reduce.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Free Report) by 97.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,317 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,250,135 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.'s holdings in Baxter International were worth $493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, McMillan Office Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Baxter International

Here are the key news stories impacting Baxter International this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target on Baxter International to $21 from $19, signaling somewhat improved valuation expectations even though the firm kept a neutral rating. Baxter International NYSE: BAX Given New $21.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group
• Neutral Sentiment: News also highlighted that Baxter’s chart has formed a golden cross, a technical signal some traders view as constructive for near-term momentum. AbbVie vs Baxter: One Golden Cross Is Real, One Is a Trap
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut its earnings estimates for Baxter across multiple periods, including Q2 2026, FY2026, FY2027 and FY2028, while also downgrading the stock to Strong Sell, which suggests concerns about profit growth. Zacks.com downgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Baxter also updated its segment reporting structure and metrics, but the filing did not appear to include a major operating surprise. Baxter International Updates Segment Reporting Structure and Metrics

Baxter International Trading Up 5.5%

Shares of Baxter International stock opened at $23.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.16 and a 200 day moving average of $19.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.97, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.62. Baxter International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $15.73 and a fifty-two week high of $29.35.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.15% and a negative net margin of 9.70%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Baxter International's dividend payout ratio is presently -1.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Baxter International from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore cut their target price on shares of Baxter International from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Baxter International from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Baxter International from $20.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $19.91.

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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