Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Receives $46.30 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the nine analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.30.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BAX shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Baxter International from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Baxter International from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Baxter International from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dodge & Cox raised its position in Baxter International by 178.0% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 27,381,465 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,058,567,000 after acquiring an additional 17,533,024 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the third quarter valued at about $215,935,000. Carmignac Gestion boosted its holdings in Baxter International by 467.0% during the third quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 4,848,773 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $182,992,000 after buying an additional 3,993,537 shares in the last quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Baxter International during the third quarter worth about $114,307,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position 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 worth $244,983,000 after buying an additional 2,650,959 shares during the period. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Baxter International Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE BAX opened at $39.51 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.39. Baxter International has a 12 month low of $31.01 and a 12 month high of $50.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $20.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.62.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.02. Baxter International had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 17.77%. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Baxter International will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Baxter International’s payout ratio 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.