Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 117 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 151,193 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned 0.06% of HCA Healthcare worth $45,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 108.2% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 7,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,253,000 after buying an additional 3,649 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter worth about $49,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 23,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,397,000 after purchasing an additional 8,633 shares in the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 22,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,235,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 5,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,781,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $303.64 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $276.50 and a 52-week high of $417.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $321.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $353.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.12.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $1,363,950.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,702 shares in the company, valued at $18,445,700. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,415,579. This represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James cut HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays dropped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $396.00 to $392.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.27.

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.