Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Short Interest Update

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,620,000 shares, a drop of 6.8% from the March 15th total of 8,180,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Baxter International by 69.0% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,491,343 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $244,983,000 after purchasing an additional 2,650,959 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 191.4% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 69,606 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,691,000 after buying an additional 45,718 shares during the last quarter. Carmignac Gestion lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 467.0% during the 3rd quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 4,848,773 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $182,992,000 after buying an additional 3,993,537 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,151,515 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $118,938,000 after buying an additional 30,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in Baxter International during the 4th quarter worth about $1,526,000. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Baxter International Trading Down 0.2 %

BAX opened at $39.51 on Thursday. Baxter International has a 52 week low of $31.01 and a 52 week high of $50.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.39. The firm has a market cap of $20.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.02. Baxter International had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 17.77%. The business had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Baxter International will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAX has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group cut their price target on Baxter International from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on Baxter International from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Baxter International from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Citigroup raised their target price on Baxter International from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.30.

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.