Baxter International Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:BAX)

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 32,265 put options on the company. This is an increase of 397% compared to the average daily volume of 6,487 put options.

Baxter International Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE BAX opened at $17.45 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.98 billion, a PE ratio of -9.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.73. Baxter International has a 12-month low of $17.00 and a 12-month high of $36.57.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.09). Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.95% and a negative net margin of 8.51%.The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.850-2.050 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Baxter International will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is presently -2.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BAX. Greenhaven Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Baxter International during the third quarter valued at approximately $143,186,000. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in Baxter International by 10.1% in the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 57,396,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,306,915,000 after purchasing an additional 5,274,750 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 477.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,725,251 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,547 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,510,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $257,174,000 after purchasing an additional 972,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,410,689 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $65,216,000 after purchasing an additional 894,761 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAX has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Baxter International from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore lowered their target price on Baxter International from $24.00 to $23.00 in a report on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Baxter International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baxter International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.10.

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.