Raymond James Trust N.A. Boosts Stock Holdings in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,071 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,931 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $1,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BAX. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 17.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 5,159 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 762 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International in the first quarter worth about $39,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International in the first quarter worth about $6,083,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International in the first quarter worth about $101,000. Finally, Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL grew its stake in Baxter International by 6.1% during the first quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 13,885 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $593,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on BAX. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Baxter International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.91.

Baxter International Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Baxter International stock opened at $33.21 on Monday. Baxter International Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.60 and a 1 year high of $44.01. The firm has a market cap of $16.96 billion, a PE ratio of 166.06, a PEG ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.67.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. Analysts expect 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 issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Baxter International’s payout ratio is 580.03%.

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.