Carret Asset Management LLC Buys 1,410 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Carret Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,905 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,410 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. now owns 1,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $274,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 461 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 483,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,904,000 after purchasing an additional 5,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 155,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,223,000 after buying an additional 13,910 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.05.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.04, for a total value of $203,450.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,491.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.04, for a total value of $203,450.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,491.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 344 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.97, for a total transaction of $110,757.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $789,470.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

NYSE:HCA traded down $0.29 on Wednesday, reaching $319.14. The stock had a trading volume of 835,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,087,382. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.96 and a 1-year high of $335.83. The company has a market capitalization of $84.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $324.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $293.19.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.85. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 996.30%. The firm had revenue of $17.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.91%.

HCA Healthcare declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.