Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.29

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 16th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.29 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th.

Baxter International has raised its dividend payment by an average of 6.7% per year over the last three years. Baxter International has a payout ratio of 37.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Baxter International to earn $3.18 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.5%.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BAX opened at $37.82 on Thursday. Baxter International has a fifty-two week low of $31.01 and a fifty-two week high of $44.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.27, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $35.26 and a 200-day moving average of $37.67.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.02. Baxter International had a net margin of 17.79% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The business had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.75 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Baxter International will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen downgraded Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Baxter International from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Baxter International from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.73.

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.