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

Capital Analysts LLC grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 845 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA stock opened at $311.02 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $82.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $320.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $280.82. 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 Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.85. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 996.30%. The firm had revenue of $17.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.91%.

HCA Healthcare declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $277.00 to $301.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $356.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Sammie S. Mosier sold 1,645 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $513,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,385,552. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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.

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.