Lincoln National Corp Buys 2,225 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Lincoln National Corp boosted its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,989 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,225 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $4,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $356.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,138,652.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $303,576.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 22,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,977,880. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at $3,138,652.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,455 shares of company stock valued at $2,008,700. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:HCA traded up $2.30 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $310.06. 747,578 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,095,870. The company has a fifty day moving average of $321.84 and a 200 day moving average of $298.27. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.96 and a 12 month high of $335.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.46, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.16.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.93 EPS. HCA Healthcare’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.74 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.16%.

HCA Healthcare announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.