GAMMA Investing LLC Makes New Investment in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 5,431 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Baxter International by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,836,563 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $408,992,000 after buying an additional 1,098,787 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 69.0% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 2,650,959 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Baxter International in the 3rd quarter valued at $215,935,000. Carmignac Gestion lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 467.0% in the 3rd quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 4,848,773 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $182,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,993,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 1.0% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 30,477 shares in the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAX has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Baxter International from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on Baxter International from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. 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. StockNews.com upgraded Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Baxter International from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven research 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.30.

Baxter International Price Performance

BAX stock opened at $40.23 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.52. The stock has a market cap of $20.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.71, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.62. Baxter International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.01 and a fifty-two week high of $50.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. Baxter International had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 17.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Baxter International Company 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.