Sapient Capital LLC Makes New Investment in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 92.9% during the 3rd 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 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.79, for a total transaction of $981,728.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,929 shares in the company, valued at $7,647,967.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total transaction of $1,185,327.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,880,993. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.79, for a total transaction of $981,728.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,647,967.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $356.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.05.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 1.4 %

HCA stock opened at $322.79 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $215.96 and a one year high of $335.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $319.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $279.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.18.

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

HCA Healthcare declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.91%.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

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.