Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Announces $0.17 Quarterly Dividend

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, November 11th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of 0.17 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%.

Baxter International has raised its dividend payment by an average of 6.7% per year over the last three years. Baxter International has a dividend payout ratio of 38.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Baxter International to earn $3.20 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 36.3%.

Baxter International Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BAX opened at $34.22 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $17.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 171.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.60. Baxter International has a 12 month low of $32.48 and a 12 month high of $44.01. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.01.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. Baxter International had a net margin of 16.51% and a return on equity of 18.06%. Baxter International’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAX has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Baxter International from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Baxter International from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $39.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Baxter International has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.91.

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.