Pacer Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 36.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,057 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 14,914 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in shares of Baxter International by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 50,377,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,469,002,000 after acquiring an additional 5,779,100 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Baxter International by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,745,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $50,904,000 after acquiring an additional 502,370 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Baxter International by 30.9% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 623,403 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $21,339,000 after acquiring an additional 147,155 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Baxter International by 248.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,326 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 8,074 shares during the period. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in Baxter International during the 4th quarter worth $2,193,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Price Performance

BAX opened at $28.06 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.86 and a 200-day moving average of $31.14. The company has a market capitalization of $14.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.51, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.61. Baxter International Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.25 and a 1-year high of $40.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.59 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 4.71% and a positive return on equity of 17.24%. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -61.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Baxter International from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.38.

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.