Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 1,207 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,329 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,207 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $5,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE:HCA opened at $334.21 on Tuesday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $289.98 and a 1-year high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $322.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $342.26.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp dropped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare 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.