New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $35.05 Million Position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Free Report) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 906,732 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 76,013 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.18% of Baxter International worth $35,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 11.3% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,836,563 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $408,992,000 after acquiring an additional 1,098,787 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 69.0% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,491,343 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $244,983,000 after acquiring an additional 2,650,959 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International during the third quarter valued at approximately $215,935,000. Carmignac Gestion increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 467.0% during the third quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 4,848,773 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $182,992,000 after acquiring an additional 3,993,537 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 1.0% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,151,515 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $118,938,000 after acquiring an additional 30,477 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company's stock.

Baxter International Trading Down 0.2 %

Baxter International stock traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.15. The stock had a trading volume of 2,013,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,624,090. Baxter International Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.01 and a twelve month high of $50.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $20.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.69, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $41.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.54.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.02. Baxter International had a net margin of 17.77% and a return on equity of 19.49%. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Baxter International's payout ratio is 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BAX. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Baxter International from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Baxter International from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Baxter International from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Baxter International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $46.30.

Baxter International Profile

Baxter International Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops and provides a portfolio of healthcare products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Medical Products and Therapies, Healthcare Systems and Technologies, Pharmaceuticals, and Kidney Care. The company offers sterile intravenous (IV) solutions; infusion systems and devices; parenteral nutrition therapies; generic injectable pharmaceuticals; surgical hemostat and sealant products, advanced surgical equipment; smart bed systems; patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies; and respiratory health devices, as well as advanced equipment for the surgical space, including surgical video technologies, precision positioning devices, and other accessories.