Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Purchases 4,200 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 66.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,500 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare accounts for 0.9% of Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $3,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,241,000 after acquiring an additional 4,285 shares during the period. Meritage Group LP purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at $150,548,000. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth $18,044,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $869,000. Finally, NRI Wealth Management LC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $2,896,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $320.82 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $313.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $351.29. The stock has a market cap of $81.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.64. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the company earned $5.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. 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. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the topic of a number of research reports. KeyCorp reduced their price target 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. Truist Financial decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

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.