Cozad Asset Management Inc. Trims Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 31,935 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,309 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare makes up 1.0% of Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $8,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. abrdn plc raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.8% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 164,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,444,000 after acquiring an additional 7,476 shares during the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $10,085,000. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,100,000. DNB Asset Management AS grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 60,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,425,000 after purchasing an additional 7,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 623.3% in the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 43,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,701,000 after buying an additional 37,488 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on HCA. Barclays upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $356.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $371.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $316.59.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $4,880,993. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Sammie S. Mosier sold 1,645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $513,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,646 shares in the company, valued at $2,385,552. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,880,993. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,840 shares of company stock worth $4,588,869 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE HCA traded down $2.66 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $308.76. 351,797 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,099,305. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $323.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $295.56. The company has a market cap of $81.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.65. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.96 and a 52 week high of $335.83.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 674.49% and a net margin of 8.20%. The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.93 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

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

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.