Heritage Trust Co Invests $2.47 Million in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Heritage Trust Co purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,473,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 1,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,838,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 10,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,153,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on HCA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE HCA opened at $335.35 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $327.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $337.04. The company has a market cap of $82.56 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was 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 13.11%.

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.