Dan Loeb’s Baxter International Inc (BAX) Activist Campaign Reaches a New Milestone

Hedge funds have shown mixed feelings for Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX) as far as their moves during the second quarter. Even though the total number of hedge funds, among those that we track, holding the company significantly reduced to 39 at the end of June from 50 a quarter earlier, the aggregate value of these investments increased to $2.11 billion as compared to $1.46 billion held in shares during the same period. The concentration of hedge fund investment in the company was, however, relatively low as it represented only 6.8% of Baxter’s market value. James Dinan‘s York Capital Management is the second largest stockholder of Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX) within our database, following Third Point, as it initiated a new position in the company during the second trimester, accounting to some 8.07 million shares valued at $564.64 million. On York Capital’s heels is Richard S. Pzena‘s Pzena Investment Management, which owns about 5.03 million shares of Baxter valued at $351.79 million after a 1% hike in its stake during the same period.

Third Point’s activist campaign with Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX) has been highly unconventional from the very start. In the letter that Loeb sent to the company’s management, he praised the company of their spinoff decision and commending the CEO’s performance. The company has been performing well lately with EPS in the second quarter coming in at $1.00, beating estimates by $0.05 and revenues of $3.89 billion beating expectations by $120 million.

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