Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC Buys 1,867 Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 247.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,622 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,867 shares during the quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $76,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $294,000. PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the third quarter worth $429,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Baxter International by 29.5% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 41,027 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,558,000 after buying an additional 9,357 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Baxter International by 15.4% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 170,855 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,487,000 after buying an additional 22,787 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empire Financial Management Company LLC increased its stake in Baxter International by 263.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 26,907 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,022,000 after acquiring an additional 19,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on BAX. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.45.

Baxter International Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE BAX traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.36. 4,386,618 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,898,817. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $14.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 146.81, a PEG ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.59. Baxter International Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.33 and a 52 week high of $44.01.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its earnings results 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. Baxter International had a net margin of 0.77% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Baxter International’s payout ratio is presently 340.00%.

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.