Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $22.45

Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.45.

BAX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Baxter International from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup upgraded shares of Baxter International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $28.00 in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of Baxter International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Baxter International from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th.

Baxter International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BAX opened at $23.48 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.14 billion, a PE ratio of -11.34, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $25.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.33. Baxter International has a twelve month low of $15.73 and a twelve month high of $30.00.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.19. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.57% and a negative net margin of 9.27%.The company had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. Baxter International’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Baxter International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.950-2.150 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Baxter International will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th were issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is -1.93%.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Baxter International during the second quarter valued at about $1,392,098,000. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Baxter International during the second quarter worth about $30,604,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter worth about $1,744,874,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter valued at approximately $51,958,000. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,522,000. 90.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Baxter International

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops and markets products used in hospitals, outpatient facilities and other care settings. Its portfolio includes intravenous solutions and administration sets, infusion pumps, parenteral nutrition products, injectable medicines, surgical products and systems for medication preparation and delivery.

The company also provides products and technologies that support anesthesia, critical care, patient monitoring and other hospital workflows.