Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) crossed 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 changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BAX shares. 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 report on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Baxter International from $17.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Baxter International from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Baxter International from $20.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Baxter International from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $19.73.

Baxter International Stock Up 4.4%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $19.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.09. The company has a market cap of $11.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.85.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.05. Baxter International had a positive return on equity of 16.15% and a negative net margin of 9.70%.The firm had revenue of $2.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. Baxter International’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Baxter International Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Baxter International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Baxter International’s dividend payout ratio is -1.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baxter International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAX. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Baxter International by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,515,928 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,243,000 after buying an additional 615,100 shares in the last quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Baxter International by 70.0% in the 4th quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 10,693,223 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $204,347,000 after buying an additional 4,404,874 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in shares of Baxter International by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 57,396,370 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,306,915,000 after acquiring an additional 5,274,750 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Baxter International by 477.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,725,251 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,970,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantitative Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Baxter International during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,004,000. Hedge funds and other 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.