Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.29

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 8th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be given a dividend of 0.29 per share by the medical instruments supplier on Monday, July 1st. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st.

Baxter International has increased its dividend by an average of 6.7% annually over the last three years.

Baxter International Stock Performance

Shares of BAX opened at $35.75 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.30 and a 200 day moving average of $38.89. The company has a market capitalization of $18.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.88, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.64. Baxter International has a 12 month low of $31.01 and a 12 month high of $50.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.04. Baxter International had a net margin of 17.79% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The company had revenue of $3.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. Baxter International’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BAX shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Baxter International from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Bank of America upped their price target on Baxter International from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Baxter International from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Baxter International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Baxter International from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.30.

Baxter International Company Profile

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.