Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.56.

BAX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus raised Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Baxter International in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on Baxter International from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Baxter International by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,519 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Baxter International by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 61,878 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,257,000 after buying an additional 6,168 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,154,616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $43,841,000 after buying an additional 208,726 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new position in shares of Baxter International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $114,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Baxter International by 23.4% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,431 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219 shares during the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Baxter International Stock Up 0.2 %

BAX opened at $36.64 on Tuesday. Baxter International has a twelve month low of $28.34 and a twelve month high of $43.99. The firm has a market cap of $18.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.62, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.06. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.67% and a negative net margin of 5.05%. The business had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.67 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Baxter International will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -53.13%.

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.