Cwm LLC Increases Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Cwm LLC lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,311 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. CX Institutional boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 904 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth $206,000. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 44.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 35,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,653,000 after purchasing an additional 10,755 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 152,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,504,000 after buying an additional 14,575 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on HCA. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $356.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.88.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,880,993. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $289,299.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $520,474. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,880,993. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,840 shares of company stock worth $4,588,869. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $314.12 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.96 and a 52-week high of $335.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 1.54 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $324.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $294.45.

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

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 13.91%.

HCA Healthcare declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.