Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Purchases 36,118 Shares of Baxter International Inc. $BAX

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 9.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 427,368 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,118 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned about 0.08% of Baxter International worth $7,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BAX. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 8,014 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in Baxter International by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 4,452 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC raised its position in Baxter International by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 15,968 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lifted its stake in Baxter International by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 46,913 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $897,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in Baxter International by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:BAX opened at $22.40 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $20.70 and its 200 day moving average is $19.44. The stock has a market cap of $11.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.62. Baxter International Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.73 and a 52-week high of $29.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.15% and a negative net margin of 9.70%.The business had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. Baxter International’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is presently -1.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on BAX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Baxter International from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup lowered Baxter International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research cut Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Baxter International from $20.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Baxter International from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $19.91.

Baxter International Profile

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company’s primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter’s offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.