Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Short Interest Update

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 8,560,000 shares, an increase of 16.0% from the June 15th total of 7,380,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,400,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Baxter International in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen lowered Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Citigroup cut their price target on Baxter International from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered Baxter International from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $39.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Baxter International from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baxter International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 79.9% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,121,434 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $43,357,000 after acquiring an additional 498,007 shares during the period. Carmignac Gestion lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 5,311,012 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,324,000 after acquiring an additional 462,239 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 110.9% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 797,372 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $30,826,000 after acquiring an additional 419,322 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,170,655 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $45,258,000 after acquiring an additional 373,409 shares during the period. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Baxter International in the first quarter valued at approximately $10,951,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Stock Down 3.8 %

NYSE BAX traded down $1.35 during trading on Monday, hitting $33.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,633,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,086,712. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $17.31 billion, a PE ratio of 6.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.34. Baxter International has a fifty-two week low of $31.01 and a fifty-two week high of $50.21.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.55 billion. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.47% and a net margin of 17.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Baxter International will post 2.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 31st. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.31%.

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.