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

Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.9091.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BAX shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Baxter International in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $20.00 to $19.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st.

Baxter International Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:BAX opened at $17.97 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $17.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Baxter International has a one year low of $15.73 and a one year high of $32.68. The company has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.44, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.62.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.05. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 9.70% and a positive return on equity of 16.15%. The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Baxter International will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th 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, May 29th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is currently -1.88%.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted 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 acquiring an additional 450,350 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Baxter International by 32.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 615,100 shares during the period. Greenhaven Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Baxter International in the 3rd quarter worth $143,186,000. DNB Asset Management AS raised its position in Baxter International by 304.7% in the 3rd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 398,118 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $9,065,000 after purchasing an additional 299,750 shares during the period. Finally, Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Baxter International in the 3rd quarter worth $2,128,000. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Baxter International

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.