Banco Santander S.A. Buys 4,324 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. has increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 7.8%, holding nearly 60,000 shares valued at over $20 million.
• Analysts have shown mixed sentiment on HCA shares, with Truist Financial raising the target price to $415 while Bank of America downgraded it to "neutral," setting a target of $394.
• HCA Healthcare recently reported strong quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $6.84, surpassing estimates, and a planned dividend of $0.72 per share to be paid in September.

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,953 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,324 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $20,717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 888.9% in the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 344.0% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 111 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 75.8% in the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 116 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 99.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 191 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded up $2.85 on Friday, reaching $356.84. 1,369,756 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,628,465. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $370.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $347.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.20 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.49 billion. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 7,363.11% and a net margin of 8.21%. HCA Healthcare's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is presently 12.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total value of $5,797,585.36. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,670,420.72. The trade was a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $416.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Stephens upgraded HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $401.00 price target on HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wolfe Research lowered HCA Healthcare from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $336.00 price target (down previously from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $396.46.

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.