HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,022 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,149 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $6,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $547,104,000. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,229,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $534,917,000 after purchasing an additional 758,127 shares during the last quarter. MFN Partners Management LP boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 102.9% during the first quarter. MFN Partners Management LP now owns 1,261,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,081,000 after buying an additional 639,701 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 14.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,800,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $701,948,000 after buying an additional 347,177 shares during the period. Finally, Kinetic Partners Management LP purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,524,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:HCA opened at $311.02 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07. 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 price is $320.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $280.82. The company has a market capitalization of $82.26 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.65.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.85. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 996.30%. The firm had revenue of $17.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.64 EPS. HCA Healthcare’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 13.91%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on HCA shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Raymond James upped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $356.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.05.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value of $1,185,327.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,880,993. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Sammie S. Mosier sold 1,645 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $513,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,385,552. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total transaction of $1,185,327.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,899 shares in the company, valued at $4,880,993. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,840 shares of company stock worth $4,588,869 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.70% 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.