First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown Trims Stock Holdings in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown cut its holdings in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 30.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,514 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 5,953 shares during the quarter. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Baxter International by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,156,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $460,022,000 after buying an additional 170,776 shares in the last quarter. Coho Partners Ltd. bought a new position in Baxter International during the 3rd quarter valued at $57,229,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Baxter International by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,160,666 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $33,845,000 after acquiring an additional 21,592 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,154,616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $43,841,000 after purchasing an additional 208,726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Baxter International by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,113,125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $32,459,000 after purchasing an additional 13,424 shares in the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on BAX. StockNews.com lowered Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.44.

Baxter International Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:BAX opened at $30.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 154.28, a P/E/G ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Baxter International Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.33 and a 12-month high of $44.01.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 340.02%.

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.