International Assets Investment Management LLC Takes Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 14,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,030,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BSW Wealth Partners raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 33,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,078,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Narwhal Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 30,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,326,000 after purchasing an additional 5,275 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 7,589.2% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 2,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,808 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 44,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,084,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $3,138,652.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 344 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.97, for a total transaction of $110,757.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,452 shares in the company, valued at $789,470.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,055 shares of company stock worth $2,503,100. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $309.42 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $321.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $298.85. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $215.96 and a one year high of $335.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.66.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 674.49% and a net margin of 8.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.74 EPS for the current year.

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

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HCA shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $356.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.59.

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.