Insider Buying: HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Major Shareholder Buys 1,580 Shares of Stock

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) major shareholder Of America Corp /De/ Bank acquired 1,580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.28 per share, with a total value of $39,942.40. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of HCA stock traded down $0.09 on Friday, hitting $342.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,114,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,343,785. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $323.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $341.86.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced 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 company earned $5.90 EPS. Analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors 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 0.84%. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $840,286,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,500,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $450,461,000 after buying an additional 574,239 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 85.7% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,061,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,727,000 after purchasing an additional 489,916 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 120.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,264,000 after acquiring an additional 476,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 12,016.0% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 467,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,301,000 after buying an additional 463,579 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HCA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial lowered their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued 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, HCA Healthcare presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

About HCA Healthcare

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.