Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Receives $19.91 Average PT from Brokerages

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) has been assigned an average rating of “Reduce” from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.9091.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BAX shares. Evercore reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research cut Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th.

Baxter International Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:BAX opened at $16.75 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $17.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.10. Baxter International has a 12-month low of $15.73 and a 12-month high of $32.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.15% and a negative net margin of 9.70%.The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Baxter International will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1.88%.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. grew its stake in shares of Baxter International by 28.9% in the first quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 60,475 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 13,562 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its stake in shares of Baxter International by 95.6% in the first quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 258,062 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,542,000 after purchasing an additional 126,104 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its stake in shares of Baxter International by 99.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 111,858 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,245,000 after purchasing an additional 55,674 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Baxter International by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 15,968 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Baxter International by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,410,689 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $65,216,000 after purchasing an additional 894,761 shares during the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.