National Pension Service Raises Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 483,708 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,719 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.18% of HCA Healthcare worth $130,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Kinetic Partners Management LP bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,524,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 501.8% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 208,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,401,000 after buying an additional 174,240 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 350.0% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 204,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,439,000 after acquiring an additional 159,303 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 51.6% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 355,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,502,000 after acquiring an additional 121,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 83.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 254,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,579,000 after purchasing an additional 115,720 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA traded down $5.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $309.42. 1,023,674 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,096,014. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.96 and a 12-month high of $335.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $321.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.85. The company has a market cap of $81.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.66.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 674.49% and a net margin of 8.20%. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.74 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

HCA Healthcare announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HCA shares. TD Cowen cut their price target on HCA Healthcare from $371.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Raymond James upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.59.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at $3,138,652.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 10,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $289,299.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $520,474. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,055 shares of company stock worth $2,503,100. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.