Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on BAX. TD Cowen cut shares of Baxter International from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Baxter International in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a neutral rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Baxter International from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $39.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Monday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $41.70.

Baxter International Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE BAX opened at $35.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.48. Baxter International has a 52-week low of $31.01 and a 52-week high of $44.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.97. The stock has a market cap of $17.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.57.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. Baxter International had a net margin of 17.79% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 2.91 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BAX. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Baxter International during the second quarter worth $27,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Baxter International during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Baxter International by 205.4% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 953 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Baxter International during the first quarter worth $39,000. Finally, CKW Financial Group bought a new position in Baxter International during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 90.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.