GE HealthCare Technologies (NASDAQ:GEHC) Hits New 1-Year High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:GEHC) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $94.80 and last traded at $93.48, with a volume of 7831939 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $85.90.

The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.33 billion. GE HealthCare Technologies had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 25.19%.

GE HealthCare Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 14th were paid a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. This is an increase from GE HealthCare Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 14th. GE HealthCare Technologies’s payout ratio is 3.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of GE HealthCare Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $95.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of GE HealthCare Technologies from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of GE HealthCare Technologies from $96.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GE HealthCare Technologies

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wahed Invest LLC increased its position in shares of GE HealthCare Technologies by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 11,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of GE HealthCare Technologies by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 30,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,406,000 after purchasing an additional 4,998 shares during the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of GE HealthCare Technologies by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of GE HealthCare Technologies by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 107,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,430,000 after purchasing an additional 3,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Regal Partners Ltd increased its position in shares of GE HealthCare Technologies by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Regal Partners Ltd now owns 311,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,365,000 after purchasing an additional 42,148 shares during the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GE HealthCare Technologies Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $42.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.15.

About GE HealthCare Technologies

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.