Swiss National Bank Sells 36,300 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Swiss National Bank decreased its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 546,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.22% of HCA Healthcare worth $164,122,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 322.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,276,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397,883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 120.1% during 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 purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at approximately $150,548,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,121,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 226,952.9% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 231,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,513,000 after purchasing an additional 231,492 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Monday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $314.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $318.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $346.05. The company has a market cap of $77.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company posted $5.90 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase 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 0.92%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.