Rafferty Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:GEHC)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:GEHC - Free Report) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 214,680 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 38,427 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in GE HealthCare Technologies were worth $16,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GEHC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in GE HealthCare Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $488,531,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in GE HealthCare Technologies by 4.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of GE HealthCare Technologies by 107.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,841,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $378,520,000 after purchasing an additional 2,506,417 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of GE HealthCare Technologies by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,537,446 shares of the company's stock worth $4,107,378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eminence Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of GE HealthCare Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $102,574,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company's stock.

GE HealthCare Technologies Trading Down 3.3%

GEHC stock traded down $2.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.51. 1,239,179 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,414,715. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average of $70.87 and a 200-day moving average of $79.96. GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.65 and a 52-week high of $94.80.

GE HealthCare Technologies (NASDAQ:GEHC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.66 billion. GE HealthCare Technologies had a return on equity of 25.74% and a net margin of 10.13%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. will post 4.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GE HealthCare Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 25th were issued a $0.035 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 25th. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.20%. GE HealthCare Technologies's payout ratio is currently 2.95%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GEHC has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of GE HealthCare Technologies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $74.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of GE HealthCare Technologies from $104.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on GE HealthCare Technologies from $103.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on GE HealthCare Technologies from $96.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on GE HealthCare Technologies from $86.00 to $78.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, GE HealthCare Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.