Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 57.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,487 shares of the company’s stock after selling 212,193 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of HCA Healthcare worth $46,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 322.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,276,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397,883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 120.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,264,000 after acquiring an additional 476,756 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at $150,548,000. Canoe Financial LP boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 226,952.9% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 231,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,513,000 after acquiring an additional 231,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 210.6% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 306,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,691,000 after buying an additional 208,015 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of HCA opened at $319.33 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $313.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $350.53. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two 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 firm has a market cap of $79.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 prior year, the business posted $5.90 EPS. Analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HCA shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

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.