Level Four Advisory Services LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC lowered its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,386 shares of the company’s stock after selling 161 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $342.25 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $84.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $289.98 and a one year high of $417.14. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $324.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $340.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.08.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released 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 net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 0.84%. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America cut their target price 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. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.