Merit Financial Group LLC Lowers Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Merit Financial Group LLC trimmed its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,181 shares of the company’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,152,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $529,452,000 after acquiring an additional 67,332 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,150,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,860,000 after buying an additional 30,072 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,146,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,081,000 after acquiring an additional 102,025 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,594,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,177,000 after purchasing an additional 57,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 605,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,101,000 after purchasing an additional 6,368 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $309.42 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $81.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $321.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.85. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.96 and a fifty-two week high of $335.83.

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

HCA Healthcare announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid 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 yield of 0.85%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insider Activity

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at $3,138,652.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total value of $494,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,544,316. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,055 shares of company stock valued at $2,503,100 over the last ninety days. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on HCA. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $356.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $316.59.

About HCA Healthcare

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.