S&CO Inc. Purchases New Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Key Points

• S&CO Inc. invested $794,000 in HCA Healthcare by acquiring 2,298 shares in the first quarter of 2023.
• Insider Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of HCA stock for approximately $5.8 million, reducing his ownership by 55.38%.
• HCA Healthcare reported earnings per share of $6.84 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $6.20.

S&CO Inc. purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $794,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,021,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 31,962 shares of the company's stock worth $9,593,000 after acquiring an additional 8,623 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 61,581 shares of the company's stock worth $18,484,000 after acquiring an additional 10,777 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth about $270,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 160,447 shares of the company's stock worth $48,158,000 after acquiring an additional 18,180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,670,420.72. This represents a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA traded up $2.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $356.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,354,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,607,864. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $371.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $346.78. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14. 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 (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.20 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $18.61 billion during 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $336.00 price objective (down previously from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $401.00 price objective on HCA Healthcare and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays dropped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $416.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research lowered HCA Healthcare from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $320.00 to $385.00 in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $396.46.

HCA Healthcare 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.