Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Hits New 12-Month Low at $37.48

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX – Get Rating)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $37.48 and last traded at $37.56, with a volume of 1707231 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $69.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $63.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Baxter International from $52.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Baxter International from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Baxter International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.14.

Baxter International Stock Down 2.1 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $42.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.69.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.06). Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 24.03% and a negative net margin of 16.10%. The company had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Baxter International Inc. will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 24th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 23rd. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -24.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Baxter International news, SVP Jacqueline Kunzler sold 3,813 shares of Baxter International stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.50, for a total value of $154,426.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $677,362.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Jeanne K. Mason sold 59,477 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.70, for a total value of $2,658,621.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 126,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,642,525.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jacqueline Kunzler sold 3,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.50, for a total transaction of $154,426.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $677,362.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baxter International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BAX. Coho Partners Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $100,525,000. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 81.9% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 2,536,265 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $129,273,000 after purchasing an additional 1,142,000 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 3,944,914 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $179,257,000 after purchasing an additional 729,426 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,342,000. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new stake in shares of Baxter International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,201,000. 84.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Baxter International

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Baxter International, Inc engages in the provision of a portfolio of essential healthcare products including acute and chronic dialysis therapies, sterile intravenous (IV) solutions, infusion systems and devices, parenteral nutrition therapies, inhaled anesthetics, generic injectable pharmaceuticals, surgical hemostat and sealant products, surgical equipment, smart bed systems, patient monitoring and diagnostic technologies, and respiratory health devices.