8,000 Shares in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Acquired by Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd

Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,165,000. HCA Healthcare makes up approximately 0.7% of Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HCA. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total transaction of $1,305,067.02. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,138,652.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $289,299.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $520,474. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total transaction of $1,305,067.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,779 shares of company stock valued at $2,421,814 in the last quarter. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA stock traded down $0.38 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $309.44. The stock had a trading volume of 812,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,103,285. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.96 and a 52 week high of $335.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $323.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $296.11. The firm has a market cap of $81.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.82 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $356.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $277.00 to $301.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $316.59.

HCA Healthcare 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.