Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Plans $0.17 Quarterly Dividend

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, November 11th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of 0.17 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th.

Baxter International has raised its dividend payment by an average of 6.7% annually over the last three years. Baxter International has a dividend payout ratio of 43.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Baxter International to earn $3.20 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.3%.

Baxter International Trading Down 1.1 %

Baxter International stock opened at $33.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.40. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.26 billion, a PE ratio of 169.15, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.60. Baxter International has a 52 week low of $32.48 and a 52 week high of $44.01.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.06% and a net margin of 16.51%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on BAX. StockNews.com lowered Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Baxter International from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Baxter International from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.91.

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.