Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Research Coverage Started at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) in a report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $42.00 target price on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Baxter International from $38.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup cut their target price 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 report on Monday, November 11th. Argus raised Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Baxter International in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.00.

Baxter International Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Baxter International stock opened at $34.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.43. Baxter International has a 52 week low of $28.33 and a 52 week high of $44.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.65 billion, a PE ratio of -26.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.61.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.67 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Baxter International will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -53.13%.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the fourth quarter valued at $365,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the fourth quarter valued at $5,102,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the fourth quarter valued at $2,193,000. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the fourth quarter valued at $220,000. Finally, Parkwood LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the fourth quarter valued at $10,747,000. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.