Terra Nova Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Terra Nova Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,104 shares of the company’s stock after selling 436 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare makes up 1.9% of Terra Nova Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 92.9% during the third quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $333.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.64. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.96 and a 52 week high of $334.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $311.06 and a 200 day moving average of $273.40.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $17.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.51 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 996.30% and a net margin of 8.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.04, for a total transaction of $203,450.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $90,491.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.04, for a total value of $203,450.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,491.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 344 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.97, for a total transaction of $110,757.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,470.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $277.00 to $301.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $311.47.

About HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates hospitals and related healthcare entities in the United States. It operates general and acute care hospitals that offers medical and surgical services, including inpatient care, intensive care, cardiac care, diagnostic, and emergency services; and outpatient services, such as outpatient surgery, laboratory, radiology, respiratory therapy, cardiology, and physical therapy.