Meag Munich Ergo Kapitalanlagegesellschaft MBH cut its stake in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 30.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,395 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 30,146 shares during the period. Meag Munich Ergo Kapitalanlagegesellschaft MBH’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $4,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Baxter International by 1,941.1% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 46,937,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,434,190,000 after buying an additional 44,638,052 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Baxter International by 2.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,765,687 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,699,228,000 after buying an additional 836,708 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Baxter International by 2.6% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,660,985 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,330,814,000 after buying an additional 648,581 shares in the last quarter. Harris Associates L P increased its position in Baxter International by 7.8% in the first quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 14,373,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $745,387,000 after buying an additional 1,039,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP increased its position in Baxter International by 3.5% in the first quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 9,951,759 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $516,098,000 after buying an additional 334,700 shares in the last quarter. 84.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Baxter International Inc. (BAX) traded up 0.49% during midday trading on Friday, hitting $59.88. 1,594,211 shares of the stock traded hands. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.33 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $60.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.77. Baxter International Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.13 and a 52 week high of $63.14.
Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.59 billion. Baxter International had a net margin of 8.85% and a return on equity of 15.09%. The business’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Baxter International Inc. will post $2.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.79%.
Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BAX shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Baxter International from $58.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 31st. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $64.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, May 1st. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (up from $57.00) on shares of Baxter International in a research note on Saturday, April 29th. Cowen and Company raised their target price on shares of Baxter International from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, May 1st. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) reaffirmed a “conviction-buy” rating and set a $71.00 target price on shares of Baxter International in a report on Tuesday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $65.33.
In other news, Director Carole J. Shapazian sold 2,618 shares of Baxter International stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.92, for a total transaction of $151,634.56. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,396.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Brik V. Eyre sold 130,732 shares of Baxter International stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.69, for a total value of $7,280,465.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 49,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,782,606.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,110 shares of company stock worth $7,642,246 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.
About Baxter International
Baxter International Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides renal and hospital products. The Company operates through two segments: Hospital Products and Renal. Its Hospital Products business manufactures sterile intravenous (IV) solutions and administration sets, premixed drugs and drug-reconstitution systems, pre-filled vials and syringes for injectable drugs, IV nutrition products, parenteral nutrition therapies, infusion pumps, inhalation anesthetics and biosurgery products.
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