Court Place Advisors LLC Sells 3,493 Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Court Place Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 25.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,493 shares during the quarter. Court Place Advisors LLC’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. CKW Financial Group bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on Baxter International from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on Baxter International from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Baxter International from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on Baxter International from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.30.

Baxter International Stock Performance

NYSE:BAX traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $39.51. The stock had a trading volume of 2,809,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,712,821. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.38. Baxter International Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.01 and a 12-month high of $50.21. The stock has a market cap of $20.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.62.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. Baxter International had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 17.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

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.