Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX) – Analysts at Svb Leerink increased their Q2 2019 earnings per share estimates for shares of Baxter International in a note issued to investors on Thursday, April 25th, Zacks Investment Research reports. Svb Leerink analyst D. Antalffy now forecasts that the medical instruments supplier will post earnings of $0.80 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.79. Svb Leerink also issued estimates for Baxter International’s Q3 2019 earnings at $0.88 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $0.88 EPS, FY2019 earnings at $3.33 EPS, Q1 2020 earnings at $0.79 EPS, Q2 2020 earnings at $0.93 EPS, Q3 2020 earnings at $1.03 EPS and Q4 2020 earnings at $1.00 EPS.
BAX has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Baxter International from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Piper Jaffray Companies restated an “overweight” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Baxter International in a research note on Friday, February 1st. Zacks Investment Research cut Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Baxter International from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Cowen set a $75.00 price objective on Baxter International and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.63.
Shares of BAX traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $75.57. The stock had a trading volume of 1,656,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,013,375. Baxter International has a 12 month low of $61.05 and a 12 month high of $82.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $38.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.96.
Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.08. Baxter International had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 14.27%. The company had revenue of $2.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. Baxter International’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. This is a boost from Baxter International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 6th. Baxter International’s payout ratio is presently 24.92%.
In other news, insider Third Point Llc sold 5,000,000 shares of Baxter International stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.37, for a total transaction of $381,850,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas T. Stallkamp sold 1,000 shares of Baxter International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.20, for a total value of $76,200.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,057,187 shares of company stock worth $386,297,619 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horrell Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Baxter International by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,534,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Berman Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Baxter International by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Berman Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,793 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Brookmont Capital Management increased its holdings in Baxter International by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Brookmont Capital Management now owns 4,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI increased its holdings in Baxter International by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 33,782 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc RI increased its holdings in Baxter International by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc RI now owns 2,437 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.12% of the company’s stock.
About Baxter International
Baxter International Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops and provides a portfolio of healthcare products. The company operates through North and South America; Europe, Middle East and Africa; and Asia-Pacific segments. The company offers peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis, and additional dialysis therapies and services; renal replacement therapies and other organ support therapies focused in the intensive care unit; sterile intravenous (IV) solutions, IV therapies, infusion pumps, administration sets, and drug reconstitution devices; and parenteral nutrition therapies.