Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Cuts Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd cut its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 84.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,800 shares during the quarter. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,241,000 after purchasing an additional 4,285 shares during the period. Meritage Group LP acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at about $150,548,000. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $18,044,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at about $869,000. Finally, NRI Wealth Management LC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,896,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE HCA opened at $319.82 on Monday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $289.98 and a one year high of $417.14. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $319.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $344.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

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.