National Bank of Canada FI Sells 57,562 Shares of GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:GEHC)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in GE HealthCare Technologies by 13%, selling 57,562 shares in the first quarter, and now holds 385,686 shares worth approximately $31.1 million.
• GE HealthCare reported better-than-expected earnings of $1.06 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates of $0.91 and posting a revenue of $5 billion, up 3.5% year-over-year.
• The company has initiated a $1 billion share repurchase program, indicating management's belief that its shares may be undervalued, and plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.035 per share starting August 15th.

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its holdings in GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:GEHC - Free Report) by 13.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 385,686 shares of the company's stock after selling 57,562 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.08% of GE HealthCare Technologies worth $31,124,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in GE HealthCare Technologies by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 60,832,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,755,851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,608,066 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP purchased a new stake in GE HealthCare Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $102,574,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in GE HealthCare Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $76,093,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in GE HealthCare Technologies by 9,524.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 771,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,268,000 after purchasing an additional 763,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in GE HealthCare Technologies by 41.6% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,451,179 shares of the company's stock valued at $191,633,000 after purchasing an additional 719,866 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GE HealthCare Technologies Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ GEHC traded up $1.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $74.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,337,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,565,339. GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.65 and a 12-month high of $94.80. The firm has a market cap of $33.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.13. The business's 50 day moving average is $73.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

GE HealthCare Technologies (NASDAQ:GEHC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.15. GE HealthCare Technologies had a return on equity of 23.93% and a net margin of 11.22%. The company had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. GE HealthCare Technologies's revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. will post 4.68 EPS for the current year.

GE HealthCare Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be paid a $0.035 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. GE HealthCare Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 2.87%.

GE HealthCare Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on GE HealthCare Technologies from $94.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded GE HealthCare Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 31st. UBS Group upgraded GE HealthCare Technologies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on GE HealthCare Technologies from $104.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on GE HealthCare Technologies from $78.00 to $74.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $88.55.

GE HealthCare Technologies Profile

GE HealthCare Technologies Inc engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of products, services, and complementary digital solutions used in the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of patients in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Imaging, Ultrasound, Patient Care Solutions, and Pharmaceutical Diagnostics.