DEERFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX), a global medtech leader, today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.17 per share of common stock. The dividend is payable on Jan. 2, 2025, to stockholders of record as of Nov. 29, 2024. The indicated annual dividend rate is $0.68 per share of common stock.
This dividend represents the new quarterly dividend rate for Baxter in anticipation of the divestiture of its Kidney Care business segment to Carlyle (NASDAQ:CG), which is expected to close in late 2024 or early 2025, subject to receipt of customary regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other closing conditions. Over its 93-year history, Baxter has consistently paid a dividend to its stockholders and maintained a disciplined approach to capital allocation that balances reinvestment in the business with returning significant value to the company’s investors through dividends and share repurchases.
“This quarterly dividend targets a payout ratio of approximately 25% of adjusted net income over time and places Baxter in line with its peer set,” said Joel Grade, Baxter’s executive vice president and chief financial officer. “Post the sale of the Kidney Care segment, Baxter will emerge with enhanced strategic clarity, committed to a disciplined capital allocation philosophy that is focused on driving value for all stakeholders, which includes returning value to our stockholders through regular dividends.”
About Baxter
Every day, millions of patients, caregivers and healthcare providers rely on Baxter's leading portfolio of diagnostic, critical care, kidney care, nutrition, hospital and surgical products used across patient homes, hospitals, physician offices and other sites of care. For more than 90 years, we've been operating at the critical intersection where innovations that save and sustain lives meet the healthcare providers who make it happen. With products, digital health solutions and therapies available in more than 100 countries, Baxter's employees worldwide are now building upon the company’s rich heritage of medical breakthroughs to advance the next generation of transformative healthcare innovations. To learn more, visit www.baxter.com and follow us on X, LinkedIn and Facebook.
This release includes forward-looking statements concerning the company’s capital allocation, which currently includes the issuance of quarterly dividends, and the pending sale of the Kidney Care business (including the expected timeframe for completing the proposed transaction). These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions about many factors (including Baxter’s ability to achieve its short- and long-term financial goals, including after giving effect to the pending Kidney Care sale), and it is possible that Baxter’s annual dividend payout rate may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated annual indicative dividend described herein or may be suspended for a period of time. For information about some of the risks and important factors that could affect Baxter’s future results, financial condition and liquidity, see Baxter’s most recent filings on Forms 10-K and 10-Q and other SEC filings, all of which are available on Baxter’s website. Baxter does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements unless otherwise required by the federal securities laws.
Baxter is a registered trademark of Baxter International Inc.