GE HealthCare Technologies (NASDAQ:GEHC) Stock Price Up 3.6% Following Earnings Beat

GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:GEHC - Get Free Report) shares were up 3.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $72.60 and last traded at $70.53. Approximately 1,736,616 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 3,957,777 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.09.

The company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.10. GE HealthCare Technologies had a return on equity of 25.74% and a net margin of 10.13%. The firm had revenue of $4.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

GE HealthCare Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.035 per share. This represents a $0.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 25th. GE HealthCare Technologies's payout ratio is 3.23%.

GE HealthCare Technologies announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on GEHC. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of GE HealthCare Technologies from $96.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. BTIG Research set a $95.00 target price on shares of GE HealthCare Technologies and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. 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 note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on GE HealthCare Technologies from $103.00 to $89.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of GE HealthCare Technologies from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $74.00 to $73.00 in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, GE HealthCare Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.30.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GE HealthCare Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings 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 worth $4,755,851,000 after buying an additional 2,608,066 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in GE HealthCare Technologies by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,537,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,107,378,000 after buying an additional 2,155,429 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in GE HealthCare Technologies by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,320,576 shares of the company's stock worth $882,777,000 after acquiring an additional 342,819 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in GE HealthCare Technologies by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,067,927 shares of the company's stock worth $630,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in GE HealthCare Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $488,531,000. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

GE HealthCare Technologies Stock Down 1.6 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $74.34 and a 200-day moving average of $81.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $31.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.14.

GE HealthCare Technologies Company 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.