GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:GEHC) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:GEHC - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 950,055 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,962 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of GE HealthCare Technologies worth $76,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GEHC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in GE HealthCare Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $488,531,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in GE HealthCare Technologies by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 60,832,004 shares of the company's stock worth $4,755,851,000 after buying an additional 2,608,066 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of GE HealthCare Technologies by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,537,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,107,378,000 after acquiring an additional 2,155,429 shares during the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP bought a new position in shares of GE HealthCare Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $102,574,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of GE HealthCare Technologies by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,067,927 shares of the company's stock worth $630,751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,252,613 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company's stock.

GE HealthCare Technologies Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ GEHC traded up $0.13 on Wednesday, reaching $75.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,375,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,523,178. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company's fifty day moving average is $71.99 and its 200-day moving average is $77.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.14. GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.65 and a 1-year high of $94.80.

GE HealthCare Technologies (NASDAQ:GEHC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $4.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.66 billion. GE HealthCare Technologies had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 24.95%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GE HealthCare Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be given a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. GE HealthCare Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.95%.

GE HealthCare Technologies declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GEHC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of GE HealthCare Technologies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $73.00 in a report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup cut their target price on GE HealthCare Technologies from $105.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of GE HealthCare Technologies from $86.00 to $78.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of GE HealthCare Technologies from $94.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BTIG Research set a $95.00 price target on shares of GE HealthCare Technologies and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, GE HealthCare Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.27.

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.