John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Cuts Stake in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. reduced its stake in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 22.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,207 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 15,622 shares during the quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $2,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 76.6% during the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 1,439 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 3,748.2% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 2,099 shares during the period. CKW Financial Group purchased a new stake in Baxter International in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake 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 worth $45,258,000 after acquiring an additional 373,409 shares during the period. Finally, Tobam lifted its stake in Baxter International by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 344,375 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $13,314,000 after acquiring an additional 3,865 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on BAX shares. StockNews.com raised Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Baxter International from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Baxter International from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Baxter International from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Baxter International from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Baxter International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.30.

Baxter International Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:BAX traded down $0.18 on Friday, hitting $39.47. 2,788,110 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,671,215. Baxter International Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.01 and a 52 week high of $50.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.40. The company has a market cap of $20.04 billion, a PE ratio of 7.60, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.02. Baxter International had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 17.77%. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. Baxter International’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Baxter International’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

About Baxter International

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.