Evolution Advisers Inc. Reduces Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Evolution Advisers Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 390 shares of the company’s stock after selling 77 shares during the quarter. Evolution Advisers Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:HCA opened at $323.71 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $313.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $353.04. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The stock has a market cap of $81.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total transaction of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,415,579. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.