Platinum Investment Management Ltd. Takes $88,000 Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Platinum Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $88,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 3,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $944,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn FI LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $788,000. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 35,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,614,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 63.2% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 276,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,922,000 after purchasing an additional 106,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,786,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $329.97 on Wednesday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $417.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $320.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $344.03. The company has a market capitalization of $81.24 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.90 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HCA shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.