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

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, November 11th,RTT News reports. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend 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. Equities research 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 %

NYSE BAX opened at $34.22 on Tuesday. Baxter International has a twelve month low of $32.48 and a twelve month high of $44.01. The stock has a market cap of $17.46 billion, a PE ratio of 171.10, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.40.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on BAX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Baxter International from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $39.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of 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 lifted their price objective on Baxter International from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Baxter International from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Baxter International has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.91.

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.