Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $36.14.

BAX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Baxter International from $36.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Baxter International from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th.

Baxter International Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:BAX opened at $31.08 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.40. Baxter International has a 12-month low of $26.25 and a 12-month high of $40.49.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.14. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 4.71% and a positive return on equity of 17.24%. The company had revenue of $2.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Baxter International will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 30th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is presently -61.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAX. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 50,377,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,469,002,000 after acquiring an additional 5,779,100 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Baxter International by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,745,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,904,000 after purchasing an additional 502,370 shares in the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT acquired a new stake in Baxter International during the 4th quarter worth about $72,450,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in Baxter International during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,193,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 248.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,326 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 8,074 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

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.