GE HealthCare Technologies (NASDAQ:GEHC) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:GEHC) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $85.27, but opened at $89.73. GE HealthCare Technologies shares last traded at $87.92, with a volume of 344,494 shares trading hands.

The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.08. GE HealthCare Technologies had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 25.19%. The company had revenue of $4.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.99 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year.

GE HealthCare Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. GE HealthCare Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on GEHC. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of GE HealthCare Technologies from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of GE HealthCare Technologies from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of GE HealthCare Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of GE HealthCare Technologies from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of GE HealthCare Technologies in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.36.

Insider Activity at GE HealthCare Technologies

In related news, CEO Thomas J. Westrick sold 2,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.78, for a total value of $222,145.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 17,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,414,377.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of GE HealthCare Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GEHC. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in GE HealthCare Technologies by 2.1% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,025,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,212,000 after acquiring an additional 20,776 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in shares of GE HealthCare Technologies during the first quarter worth $1,291,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of GE HealthCare Technologies by 14.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 9,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $900,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in GE HealthCare Technologies by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 32,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,796,000 after acquiring an additional 2,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in GE HealthCare Technologies by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 61,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,625,000 after buying an additional 3,992 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

GE HealthCare Technologies Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.18.

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.