Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) has been given an average rating of “Reduce” by the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.7273.

Several analysts have issued reports on BAX shares. Citigroup cut shares of Baxter International from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Baxter International in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Evercore lowered their target price on shares of Baxter International from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st.

Baxter International Stock Performance

NYSE BAX opened at $22.04 on Monday. Baxter International has a 1 year low of $15.73 and a 1 year high of $31.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.38 billion, a PE ratio of -10.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.00.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Baxter International will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 -1.88%.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dodge & Cox raised its position in shares of Baxter International by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 57,396,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,306,915,000 after buying an additional 5,274,750 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 972,891 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Baxter International by 70.0% during the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 10,693,223 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $204,347,000 after buying an additional 4,404,874 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Baxter International by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,638,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $231,304,000 after buying an additional 97,687 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position 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 buying an additional 894,761 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

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.