Stephens Inc. AR Sells 87 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,765 shares of the company’s stock after selling 87 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

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

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $323.71 on Wednesday. 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. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $289.98 and a 1-year high of $417.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $313.56 and its 200 day moving average is $353.26.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the business earned $5.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. 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. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HCA has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial cut their price target on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.67.

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.