Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Now Covered by Barclays

Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) in a research report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $39.00 target price on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on BAX. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Baxter International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.40.

Baxter International Trading Up 8.5 %

Baxter International stock opened at $33.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $17.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 167.18, a PEG ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 0.61. 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 has a 1 year low of $28.33 and a 1 year high of $44.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $30.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.14.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.06. Baxter International had a net margin of 0.77% and a return on equity of 18.30%. On average, equities analysts predict that Baxter International will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is 340.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BAX. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in Baxter International by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 50,377,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,469,002,000 after buying an additional 5,779,100 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Baxter International by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 15,359,040 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $447,870,000 after buying an additional 2,803,920 shares during the period. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT purchased a new position in Baxter International during the fourth quarter worth $72,450,000. Coho Partners Ltd. purchased a new position in Baxter International during the third quarter worth $57,229,000. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its stake in Baxter International by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,548,215 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $74,306,000 after buying an additional 662,042 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Baxter International

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.