Great Lakes Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Baxter International Inc. $BAX

Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 237,106 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $5,055,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Baxter International by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 8,014 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 695 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in Baxter International by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 4,452 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 827 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC raised its position in Baxter International by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 15,968 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 854 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lifted its stake in Baxter International by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 46,913 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Baxter International by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Baxter International Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of Baxter International stock opened at $26.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $13.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.27. Baxter International Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.73 and a 52-week high of $30.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 9.27% and a positive return on equity of 16.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on BAX. Zacks Research raised Baxter International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Baxter International from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baxter International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.45.

Baxter International Company 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.