West Oak Capital LLC Purchases 2,935 Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)

West Oak Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) by 345.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,785 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 2,935 shares during the quarter. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Baxter International were worth $110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BAX. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Baxter International by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,156,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $460,022,000 after acquiring an additional 170,776 shares during the period. Shapiro Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Baxter International by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 3,285,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $109,885,000 after purchasing an additional 541,575 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International in the 2nd quarter worth about $67,263,000. Coho Partners Ltd. bought a new position in Baxter International during the third quarter valued at about $57,229,000. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in Baxter International by 22.1% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,154,616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $43,841,000 after buying an additional 208,726 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Price Performance

NYSE BAX traded down $0.18 on Friday, hitting $29.41. The stock had a trading volume of 5,954,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,254,838. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.71 and a 200-day moving average of $34.83. 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 52-week low of $28.33 and a 52-week high of $44.01. The company has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 147.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.59.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 340.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BAX shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.45.

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.