Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Shares Sold by Cincinnati Financial Corp

Cincinnati Financial Corp lessened its position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 73.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 230,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 652,600 shares during the period. Cincinnati Financial Corp’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $8,733,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BAX. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 73.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,772,533 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $226,541,000 after buying an additional 2,862,626 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Baxter International in the second quarter valued at $140,296,000. Shapiro Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Baxter International by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 3,285,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $109,885,000 after purchasing an additional 541,575 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International during the 2nd quarter worth $67,263,000. Finally, Coho Partners Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,229,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com cut Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.91.

Baxter International Trading Up 0.8 %

Baxter International stock opened at $31.96 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.79. Baxter International Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.60 and a 52 week high of $44.01. The stock has a market cap of $16.32 billion, a PE ratio of 159.81, a P/E/G ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. Baxter International had a net margin of 0.77% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The company’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 580.03%.

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.