Baxter International (NYSE:BAX) Price Target Lowered to $24.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has lowered its price target for Baxter International from $33.00 to $24.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating on the stock, which suggests a potential upside of 10.86% from its previous close.
• Despite the downgraded price target, other firms like Goldman Sachs and Wall Street Zen have given mixed ratings, with Goldman Sachs maintaining a "neutral" rating and Wall Street Zen upgrading to a "buy."
• Baxter International's stock recently traded at $21.65, with its earnings report showing a miss on analyst estimates, recording $0.59 earnings per share against a consensus of $0.60.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Free Report) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $33.00 to $24.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the medical instruments supplier's stock.

BAX has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Baxter International from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Baxter International from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Baxter International from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Baxter International from $44.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Baxter International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, June 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.11.

Baxter International Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:BAX traded up $0.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $22.85. 9,878,306 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,083,194. Baxter International has a 52 week low of $21.33 and a 52 week high of $40.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $11.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.97.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. Baxter International had a negative net margin of 1.42% and a positive return on equity of 16.93%. The company's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 2.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Baxter International's payout ratio is -226.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baxter International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in Baxter International by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 50,377,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,469,002,000 after purchasing an additional 5,779,100 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Baxter International by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,745,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $50,904,000 after purchasing an additional 502,370 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its position in Baxter International by 52.5% during the first quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 1,327,946 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $45,456,000 after buying an additional 457,345 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Baxter International by 11,821.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 387,689 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $13,271,000 after buying an additional 384,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkwood LLC purchased a new position in Baxter International during the fourth quarter worth about $10,747,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.19% of the company's stock.

About Baxter International

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.