New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 41,270 Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 8.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 421,788 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 41,270 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $14,109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Carmignac Gestion increased its holdings in Baxter International by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 5,311,012 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $205,324,000 after buying an additional 462,239 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Baxter International by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,206,242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $51,553,000 after acquiring an additional 84,808 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in Baxter International by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 906,732 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,054,000 after acquiring an additional 76,013 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position 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 worth $30,826,000 after purchasing an additional 419,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cincinnati Insurance Co. raised its position in Baxter International by 7.4% in the first quarter. Cincinnati Insurance Co. now owns 722,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $30,858,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAX opened at $37.54 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Baxter International Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.01 and a 1-year high of $44.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $35.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.72.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.02. Baxter International had a net margin of 17.79% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 earnings per share. Baxter International’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BAX shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. TD Cowen cut Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Morgan Stanley cut Baxter International from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $39.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.73.

Baxter International 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.