Hantz Financial Services Inc. Raises Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 17.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,040 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,621 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $5,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth $39,000. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth $41,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth $41,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on HCA. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective 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. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $382.19.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:HCA opened at $327.80 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $313.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $353.27. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $417.14. The firm has a market cap of $83.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced 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 520.98% and a net margin of 8.52%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.90 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 21.75 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,445,700. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,415,579. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.