By Colin Kellaher

Baxter International has reduced its dividend by 41% ahead of the medical-products maker's planned $3.8 billion sale of its kidney-care segment to Carlyle Group.

Baxter late Monday said its board declared a quarterly dividend of 17 cents, down from the 29-cent rate the Deerfield, Ill., company had been paying.

The new payout, equal to 68 cents a year, represents an annual yield just under 2% based on Monday's closing price of $34.22, down from 3.39% previously.

Baxter early last year said it created a standalone kidney-care company as part of a broader realignment, and in August signed a deal to sell the unit to Carlyle, with a closing expected in late 2024 or early 2025.

Baxter, which previously said it would use the roughly $3 billion in after-tax cash proceeds from the deal to pare its debt load, said the new dividend rate targets a payout ratio of about 25% of adjusted earnings, which the company said is in line with its peers.

Baxter said the reduced dividend is payable Jan. 2 to shareholders of record Nov. 29.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 12, 2024 06:36 ET (11:36 GMT)

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