Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Position Cut by City Holding Co.

City Holding Co. lowered its holdings in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 47.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,108 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,755 shares during the period. City Holding Co.’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $91,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAX. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Baxter International by 34.3% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 54,334 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after purchasing an additional 13,869 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Baxter International by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 306,200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $10,242,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Baxter International by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 3,285,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $109,885,000 after buying an additional 541,575 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 17.4% in the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,408 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&R Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 9.5% during the third quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,480 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Stock Up 0.1 %

BAX stock opened at $30.99 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.71. Baxter International Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.33 and a 52-week high of $44.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 154.94, a P/E/G ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 0.59.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 0.77%. Baxter International’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is presently 340.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Baxter International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.45.

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.