Dodge & Cox Has $1.31 Billion Position in Baxter International Inc. $BAX

Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,396,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,274,750 shares during the quarter. Dodge & Cox owned about 11.17% of Baxter International worth $1,306,915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BAX. Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 25.7% in the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,200,860 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $50,114,000 after buying an additional 450,350 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 32.4% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,515,928 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,243,000 after acquiring an additional 615,100 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the third quarter worth $143,186,000. Cullen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 10.4% during the second quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,651,542 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,009,000 after acquiring an additional 155,415 shares during the period. Finally, Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Baxter International in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,128,000. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Baxter International Price Performance

NYSE:BAX opened at $17.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.95 billion, a PE ratio of -9.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.58. Baxter International Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.00 and a 1-year high of $35.03. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.09). Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.95% and a negative net margin of 8.51%.The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.850-2.050 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -2.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Baxter International from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Baxter International from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore cut their target price on Baxter International from $24.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.90.

Baxter International Profile

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company’s primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter’s offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.