Banco Santander S.A. Sells 3,453 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Banco Santander S.A. lowered its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,629 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,453 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $16,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $330.11 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $289.98 and a one year high of $417.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $316.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $347.69. 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 $81.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.64.

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, beating 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 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on HCA shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial decreased 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.67.

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.