HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Purchased by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 59,310 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,616 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $17,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $341.94 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $323.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $341.86. 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 stock has a market cap of $84.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 posted $5.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HCA. Bank of America decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.