Baxter International Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:BAX)

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders purchased 22,430 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 624% compared to the typical volume of 3,100 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BAX shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Baxter International from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Baxter International from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Baxter International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baxter International presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.45.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Baxter International by 73.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,772,533 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $226,541,000 after purchasing an additional 2,862,626 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Baxter International during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Baxter International during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $403,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Baxter International during the second quarter valued at $567,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Baxter International by 9.0% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 55,710 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,863,000 after acquiring an additional 4,579 shares in the last quarter. 90.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Baxter International Trading Up 2.1 %

Baxter International stock traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $29.50. The stock had a trading volume of 12,194,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,174,975. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.24. Baxter International has a 52 week low of $28.62 and a 52 week high of $44.01. The stock has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a PE ratio of 147.51, a PEG ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Baxter International (NYSE:BAX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The medical instruments supplier reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.85 billion. Baxter International had a return on equity of 18.30% and a net margin of 0.77%. Baxter International's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Baxter International will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Baxter International Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Baxter International's dividend payout ratio is presently 340.00%.

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.