Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Receives $42.00 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.00.

Several analysts recently issued reports on BAX shares. Morgan Stanley lowered Baxter International from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baxter International

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BAX. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Baxter International by 73.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,772,533 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $226,541,000 after purchasing an additional 2,862,626 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter valued at approximately $140,296,000. Shapiro Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 19.7% in the second quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 3,285,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $109,885,000 after buying an additional 541,575 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter valued at approximately $67,263,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Baxter International by 7.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,206,242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $51,553,000 after buying an additional 84,808 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:BAX opened at $36.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Baxter International has a twelve month low of $31.01 and a twelve month high of $44.01. The company has a market cap of $18.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.88.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.02. Baxter International had a net margin of 16.51% and a return on equity of 18.06%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Baxter International will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.31%.

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.