Capital Analysts LLC Acquires 56 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Capital Analysts LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 845 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the quarter. Capital Analysts LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 92.9% in the third quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.9 %

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $311.02 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $82.26 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.65. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $320.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $280.82. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.96 and a fifty-two week high of $335.83.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $17.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.51 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 996.30% and a net margin of 8.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.64 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.66 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.91%.

HCA Healthcare announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on HCA shares. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $277.00 to $301.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Raymond James increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $289,299.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $520,474. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was 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 $4,880,993. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $289,299.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $520,474. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare 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.