Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on BAX. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Baxter International from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Baxter International from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays upped their price target on Baxter International from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised Baxter International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.45.

Baxter International Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of BAX opened at $26.95 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $22.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.03. Baxter International has a 12-month low of $15.73 and a 12-month high of $30.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $13.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is -1.93%.

Institutional Trading of Baxter International

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Baxter International by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,510,205 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $257,174,000 after buying an additional 972,891 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its holdings in Baxter International by 95.6% in the first quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 258,062 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,542,000 after acquiring an additional 126,104 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its holdings in Baxter International by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 3,328,202 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $63,602,000 after acquiring an additional 356,612 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in Baxter International by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 391,250 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,477,000 after acquiring an additional 35,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alteri Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Baxter International by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 10,487 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 1,158 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

Baxter International Company Profile

Baxter International Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products, pharmaceutical therapies and biotechnology-based solutions. The company’s primary business activities are organized around renal care, medication delivery, acute therapies, pharmacy automation, surgical care and biotechnology. Baxter’s offerings are designed to support patient care in hospitals, dialysis centers, nursing homes and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In the renal care segment, Baxter provides hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis systems, water treatment equipment and related disposables, including dialyzers, bloodlines and catheters.