HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Acquired by Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE

Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 140.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,582 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 30,699 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare comprises 2.9% of Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $14,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,812,961 shares of the company's stock worth $1,002,773,000 after buying an additional 64,029 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 14.1% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,800,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $701,948,000 after purchasing an additional 347,177 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $547,104,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,229,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $534,917,000 after buying an additional 758,127 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 3.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,152,419 shares of the company's stock worth $529,452,000 after acquiring an additional 67,332 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 652 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.04, for a total value of $203,450.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,491.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total transaction of $1,305,067.02. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 652 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.04, for a total value of $203,450.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,491.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,840 shares of company stock worth $4,588,869. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HCA shares. Barclays began coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $356.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $311.47.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE HCA traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $327.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 641,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,049,614. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $319.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $278.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.02. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.96 and a 52-week high of $335.83.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.85. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 996.30%. The firm had revenue of $17.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.64 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.49 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.91%.

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.