Colonial Trust Co SC Purchases 2,752 Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its position in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 117.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,090 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,752 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Baxter International by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 135,115 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,940,000 after purchasing an additional 2,475 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International during the 4th quarter worth $413,000. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Baxter International by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 329,200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $9,599,000 after buying an additional 21,200 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in Baxter International by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 50,377,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,469,002,000 after buying an additional 5,779,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in Baxter International by 1,078.2% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 139,028 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,054,000 after buying an additional 127,228 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BAX shares. Argus raised shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Baxter International in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Baxter International from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.56.

Baxter International Stock Performance

NYSE BAX opened at $31.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.37, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.63. Baxter International Inc. has a twelve month low of $26.25 and a twelve month high of $40.49. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.05. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 positive return on equity of 16.67% and a negative net margin of 5.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -61.82%.

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.