A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires New Position in Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $294,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PVG Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Baxter International during the third quarter worth about $429,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 41,027 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 9,357 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Baxter International by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 170,855 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,487,000 after purchasing an additional 22,787 shares during the last quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC grew its stake in shares of Baxter International by 263.3% during the third quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 26,907 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 19,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Baxter International by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,156,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $460,022,000 after buying an additional 170,776 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BAX traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.26. 1,511,025 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,498,426. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market cap of $14.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 146.31, a PEG ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.59. Baxter International Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.33 and a 1 year high of $44.01.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 0.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 340.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.45.

Baxter International Company 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.