Dodge & Cox Acquires 5,274,750 Shares of Baxter International Inc. $BAX

Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 10.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 57,396,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,274,750 shares during the quarter. Dodge & Cox owned about 0.11% of Baxter International worth $1,306,915,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BAX. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,882,960 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $388,416,000 after purchasing an additional 326,652 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 1.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,638,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $231,304,000 after purchasing an additional 97,687 shares during the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the third quarter valued at about $143,186,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 32.4% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,515,928 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,243,000 after buying an additional 615,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,200,860 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,114,000 after buying an additional 450,350 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Stock Performance

BAX opened at $17.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.58. Baxter International Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.00 and a 52-week high of $35.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $20.02 and its 200-day moving average is $20.64.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.09). Baxter International had a negative net margin of 8.51% and a positive return on equity of 16.95%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.850-2.050 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is -2.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $30.00 to $25.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Baxter International from $19.00 to $15.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.90.

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.