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

Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.18.

Several research firms have recently commented on BAX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Baxter International from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Baxter International from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Baxter International from $45.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 4th. Barclays upped their price target on Baxter International from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Baxter International from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in Baxter International by 178.0% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 27,381,465 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,058,567,000 after buying an additional 17,533,024 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Baxter International by 11.3% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 10,836,563 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $408,992,000 after buying an additional 1,098,787 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Baxter International by 18.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,629,326 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $482,991,000 after buying an additional 1,658,160 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Baxter International by 69.0% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,491,343 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $244,983,000 after buying an additional 2,650,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Baxter International during the third quarter valued at about $215,935,000. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE BAX opened at $41.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $21.22 billion, a PE ratio of 8.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.62. Baxter International has a fifty-two week low of $31.01 and a fifty-two week high of $50.21. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.81 billion. Baxter International had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 17.77%. Baxter International’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Baxter International will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 29th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Baxter International Company Profile

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.