Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. Takes $188,000 Position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 6,450 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $188,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 5,488.2% during the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 950 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 60.8% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,560 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 247.3% during the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 2,622 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. CKW Financial Group boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 2,625 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus upgraded Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut 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, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Baxter International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.33.

Baxter International Stock Performance

BAX stock opened at $36.61 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.60, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.43. Baxter International Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.33 and a 1 year high of $44.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $31.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.03.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.67% and a negative net margin of 5.05%. On average, research analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -53.13%.

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.