Rathbones Group PLC Buys 787 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,317 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $14,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Twin Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 877 shares of the company's stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd now owns 29,583 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,879,000 after purchasing an additional 10,079 shares during the period. Trek Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth $240,000. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 794 shares of the company's stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 209,687 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,938,000 after purchasing an additional 26,208 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 0.6 %

HCA Healthcare stock traded down $1.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $333.07. 1,677,512 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,391,060. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $327.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $336.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.90 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Guggenheim began coverage on HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.