Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $40.45.

BAX has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com lowered Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BAX. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Baxter International by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 95,997 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,239,000 after purchasing an additional 2,072 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Baxter International by 73.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,772,533 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $226,541,000 after buying an additional 2,862,626 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Baxter International during the 2nd quarter worth about $403,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Baxter International during the 2nd quarter worth about $567,000. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Baxter International stock opened at $29.08 on Thursday. Baxter International has a 1 year low of $28.62 and a 1 year high of $44.01. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.16. The company has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 145.41, a PEG ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. Baxter International had a net margin of 0.77% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The firm had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Baxter International will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 340.00%.

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.