HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Purchased by Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC

Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC increased its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 250,688 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,814 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare makes up 3.8% of Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC owned 0.09% of HCA Healthcare worth $67,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 92.9% in 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 period. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.79, for a total value of $981,728.00. Following the transaction, 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 link. In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.79, for a total value of $981,728.00. Following the transaction, 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 link. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $289,299.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $520,474. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,840 shares of company stock worth $4,588,869. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on HCA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Raymond James boosted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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, March 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.05.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA traded up $6.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $303.84. 581,238 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,074,349. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.96 and a 52 week high of $335.83. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $320.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $280.94. The firm has a market cap of $80.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.85. The business had revenue of $17.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.51 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 996.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 EPS for the current year.

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

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.91%.

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.