United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 29,035 Baxter International Inc. $BAX

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 29,035 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $619,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BAX. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Baxter International by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 8,014 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $153,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its position in Baxter International by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 4,452 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 15,968 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 46,913 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $897,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Baxter International by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on BAX shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Baxter International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group increased their target price on Baxter International from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Baxter International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $17.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Baxter International has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.45.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BAX opened at $26.08 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.37 and a 200 day moving average of $20.57. The stock has a market cap of $13.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.59. Baxter International Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.73 and a 12 month high of $30.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.19. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 9.27% and a positive return on equity of 16.57%. The business had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. Baxter International’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 28th will be given a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1.93%.

Baxter International Company 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.