Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $19.09 and traded as high as $22.76. Baxter International shares last traded at $22.6430, with a volume of 6,544,300 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BAX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore decreased their target price on shares of Baxter International from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Barclays increased their price target on Baxter International from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research raised Baxter International from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Baxter International in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Baxter International from $22.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $19.73.

Baxter International Trading Down 0.0%

The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.28 and its 200 day moving average is $19.11.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.62 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 9.70% and a positive return on equity of 16.15%. The company’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were given 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, May 29th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baxter International

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BAX. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Baxter International by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 8,014 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in Baxter International by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 4,452 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 827 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in Baxter International by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 15,968 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 854 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lifted its position in shares of Baxter International by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 46,913 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $897,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Baxter International by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.19% of the company’s stock.

About Baxter International

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.