Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Grows Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 151,193 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $45,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 322.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,276,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397,883 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,669,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,842,000 after purchasing an additional 174,946 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 2.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,487,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,511,000 after acquiring an additional 41,190 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 12.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,339,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,467,000 after acquiring an additional 143,995 shares during the period. Finally, Darsana Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 53.3% in the second quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,472,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on HCA Healthcare from $396.00 to $392.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.27.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $303.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.64. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $276.50 and a 52-week high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $321.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $353.61.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total transaction of $1,023,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,415,579. This represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $1,363,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,445,700. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.