Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,096 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth about $25,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $289,299.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $520,474. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $289,299.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $520,474. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value of $1,185,327.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,899 shares in the company, valued at $4,880,993. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,840 shares of company stock worth $4,588,869 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded down $7.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $306.60. The company had a trading volume of 2,257,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,107,586. The stock has a market cap of $81.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.65. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.96 and a twelve month high of $335.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $323.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $295.00.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 996.30% and a net margin of 8.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HCA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Truist Financial upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $277.00 to $301.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.88.

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.