Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Price Target Cut to $45.00 by Analysts at Evercore ISI

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) had its target price lowered by Evercore ISI from $46.00 to $45.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Baxter International from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. TD Cowen lowered Baxter International from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Baxter International from $44.00 to $38.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Baxter International in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a neutral rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Baxter International currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $44.46.

Baxter International Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:BAX opened at $32.85 on Tuesday. Baxter International has a 1-year low of $31.01 and a 1-year high of $50.21. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $35.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.33, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is 22.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Baxter International by 23.0% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,544 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL grew its stake in Baxter International by 6.1% in the first quarter. Birmingham Capital Management Co. Inc. AL now owns 13,885 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Baxter International in the first quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Baxter International in the first quarter valued at approximately $6,083,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Baxter International in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.