Baxter International Inc. (BAX) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.17 on April 1st

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 paid a dividend of 0.17 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th.

Baxter International has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 1.4% annually over the last three years. Baxter International has a payout ratio of 25.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Baxter International to earn $2.73 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 24.9%.

Baxter International Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of Baxter International stock opened at $36.00 on Wednesday. Baxter International has a twelve month low of $28.33 and a twelve month high of $44.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The company’s 50 day moving average is $30.89 and its 200 day moving average is $34.07. The company has a market cap of $18.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.61.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.06. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.67% and a negative net margin of 5.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Baxter International will post 2.48 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Baxter International from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Argus upgraded shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Baxter International in a report on Thursday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baxter International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.00.

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.