HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Acquired by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 28.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,354 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 972 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $1,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HCA. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 31.7% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,241,000 after acquiring an additional 4,285 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Group LP purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $150,548,000. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $18,044,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $869,000. Finally, NRI Wealth Management LC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,896,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of HCA stock opened at $320.55 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14. The company has a market capitalization of $79.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $315.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $349.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (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 in the previous year, the business earned $5.90 EPS. Research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HCA. StockNews.com lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America dropped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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 research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.