Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,620,000 shares, a decrease of 6.8% from the March 15th total of 8,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,700,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baxter International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BAX. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in shares of Baxter International during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new position in shares of Baxter International during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Baxter International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 205.4% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 953 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Trading Down 1.2 %

BAX stock traded down $0.47 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.57. The company had a trading volume of 2,658,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,171,708. Baxter International has a 52 week low of $31.01 and a 52 week high of $50.21. The company has a market cap of $20.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.58, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.82 and a 200 day moving average of $38.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.02. Baxter International had a net margin of 17.77% and a return on equity of 19.49%. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. Baxter International’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is 22.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Baxter International from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Baxter International from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.30.

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.