Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Price Target Raised to $24.00 at TD Cowen

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) had its price target boosted by TD Cowen from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $20.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup cut shares of Baxter International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on Baxter International from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore decreased their price objective on Baxter International from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Baxter International has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $20.27.

Baxter International Stock Performance

NYSE:BAX opened at $23.38 on Monday. 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 1 year low of $15.73 and a 1 year high of $29.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.46. The company has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.98, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.62.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.36 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Baxter International will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 29th were 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 was Friday, May 29th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is -1.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baxter International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Baxter International by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,510,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $257,174,000 after acquiring an additional 972,891 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Baxter International by 1.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,638,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $231,304,000 after purchasing an additional 97,687 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Baxter International by 35.6% during 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. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 3,328,202 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $63,602,000 after purchasing an additional 356,612 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 2.9% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 649,463 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $19,666,000 after purchasing an additional 18,439 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.