Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $43.36 Million Stake in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 79.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,121,434 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 498,007 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $43,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in Baxter International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. CKW Financial Group acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Baxter International in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Trading Up 1.2 %

BAX stock opened at $40.63 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $41.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Baxter International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $31.01 and a fifty-two week high of $50.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.62.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Baxter International’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BAX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. UBS Group decreased their price objective 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 increased their target price on Baxter International from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Baxter International from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.30.

Baxter International 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.