Centre Asset Management LLC Sells 21,904 Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Centre Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 245,098 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 21,904 shares during the period. Centre Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $7,147,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter valued at approximately $140,296,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new position in Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth $67,263,000. Coho Partners Ltd. bought a new position in Baxter International during the 3rd quarter worth about $57,229,000. Shapiro Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Baxter International by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 3,285,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $109,885,000 after purchasing an additional 541,575 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 22.1% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,154,616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $43,841,000 after purchasing an additional 208,726 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.45.

Baxter International Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE BAX traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $29.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 240,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,098,040. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.09. 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 $15.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 147.16, a P/E/G ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.57.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. Baxter International had a net margin of 0.77% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 340.00%.

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.