HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lowered its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,336 shares of the company’s stock after selling 76 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of HCA. MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,241,000 after acquiring an additional 4,285 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Group LP purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth approximately $150,548,000. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $18,044,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $869,000. Finally, NRI Wealth Management LC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $2,896,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This represents 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 hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $316.07 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $313.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $350.84. The stock has a market cap of $78.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07.

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

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently 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.