Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.17

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 11th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of 0.17 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%.

Baxter International has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 1.4% per year over the last three years. Baxter International has a dividend payout ratio of 25.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Baxter International to earn $2.47 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.5%.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Shares of Baxter International stock traded down $0.21 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,715,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,573,154. The firm has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a PE ratio of 153.03, a P/E/G ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Baxter International has a fifty-two week low of $28.33 and a fifty-two week high of $44.01.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. Baxter International had a net margin of 0.77% and a return on equity of 18.30%. The business had revenue of $3.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Baxter International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.90.

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.