Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC Decreases Position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 20.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,533 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,720 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,156,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $460,022,000 after acquiring an additional 170,776 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP grew its position in Baxter International by 213.5% in the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 23,192 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 15,794 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Baxter International by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 170,855 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $6,487,000 after buying an additional 22,787 shares during the last quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC now owns 150,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,696,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Finally, Coho Partners Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International in the 3rd quarter worth $57,229,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup decreased 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.45.

Baxter International Price Performance

NYSE:BAX opened at $32.45 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.64. Baxter International Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.33 and a 52 week high of $44.01. The stock has a market cap of $16.57 billion, a PE ratio of 162.23, a P/E/G ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 0.77%. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Baxter International’s payout ratio is 340.02%.

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.