Updating your Conservative stocks: Baxter International Inc. and Philips Electronics N.V. ADRs

Article Excerpt

BAXTER INTERNATIONAL INC. (www,baxter.com) $84 is still a buy. The company lets investors profit from rising demand for medical devices, including intravenous pumps and kidney-dialysis equipment. The stock fell from $88 to $78 in October 2019 after Baxter announced that it might have to re-state its results for the past several years. That’s due to possible errors in the way it calculated foreign exchange gains and losses on transactions between its businesses. From 2014 to 2018, the company recorded a combined $272 million in foreign exchange gains. To put that amount in context for you, Baxter reported preliminary operating income of $555 million for the third quarter of 2019. PHILIPS ELECTRONICS N.V. ADRs $48 (www.philips.com) is also a buy. This firm gives investors exposure to a leading maker of health-care products, including X-ray scanners and ultrasound systems, along with consumer goods like electric shavers and coffee makers. Rising tariffs between the U.S. and China have forced Philips to adjust its production and find new suppliers outside China…