Vista Investment Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Vista Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,463 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $993,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,769,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth $115,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 57.2% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 15,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,715,000 after buying an additional 2,185 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 4.0 %

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $312.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $79.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $279.93 and a 1-year high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $313.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $352.62.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 520.98% and a net margin of 8.52%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 21.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,415,579. This represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,445,700. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James cut HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on HCA Healthcare from $396.00 to $392.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.27.

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.