Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Sells 34,766 Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lessened its stake in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Free Report) by 29.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 81,871 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 34,766 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings in Baxter International were worth $3,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 205.4% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 953 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Baxter International by 79.9% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,121,434 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $43,357,000 after acquiring an additional 498,007 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Baxter International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 906,732 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $35,054,000 after acquiring an additional 76,013 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Baxter International by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 232,651 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $8,994,000 after purchasing an additional 30,832 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BAX. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Baxter International from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Baxter International from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Baxter International from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Baxter International from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $46.30.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAX traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $35.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,997,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,805,097. The firm has a market cap of $18.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.64. Baxter International Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.01 and a 1-year high of $50.21. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $41.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.79%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Baxter International's payout ratio is currently 22.31%.

About Baxter International

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.