HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Stock Position Decreased by PGGM Investments

PGGM Investments cut its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,575 shares of the company’s stock after selling 980 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $10,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. abrdn plc raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 164,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,444,000 after acquiring an additional 7,476 shares in the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $10,085,000. DNB Asset Management AS raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 60,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,425,000 after acquiring an additional 7,476 shares in the last quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,100,000. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 623.3% in the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 43,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,701,000 after buying an additional 37,488 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 2.4 %

HCA traded down $7.43 on Friday, hitting $306.69. 2,257,051 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,051,296. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.96 and a 12 month high of $335.83. The company has a market cap of $81.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $323.94 and its 200-day moving average is $295.45.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 996.30% and a net margin of 8.07%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

HCA Healthcare announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value of $1,185,327.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,880,993. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value of $1,185,327.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,880,993. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.