Allstate Corp Buys Shares of 15,420 Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 15,420 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $450,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Baxter International during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the 4th quarter worth $72,450,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Baxter International in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,104,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in Baxter International by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 13,618 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 752 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its stake in Baxter International by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,548,215 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $74,306,000 after buying an additional 662,042 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Baxter International Stock Down 0.6 %

BAX stock opened at $34.03 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.31 and a 200-day moving average of $33.54. Baxter International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.34 and a fifty-two week high of $43.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.60. 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 (NYSE:BAX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.58 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 5.05% and a positive return on equity of 16.67%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is -53.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Baxter International in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Baxter International from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Argus upgraded Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Baxter International has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.56.

Baxter International Profile

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.