Financial Strategies Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Financial Strategies Group Inc. grew its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 17.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,694 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,495 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare comprises 1.7% of Financial Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Financial Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $7,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the second quarter worth about $514,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 2.5% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 37,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,384,000 after acquiring an additional 918 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 402.8% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,636,000 after purchasing an additional 5,196 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $330.24 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $313.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $353.50. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The firm has a market cap of $83.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. 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. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 12.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on HCA. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective 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. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,702 shares in the company, valued at $18,445,700. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total transaction of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,415,579. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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.