Carret Asset Management LLC Increases Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Carret Asset Management LLC lifted its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,970 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $3,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 19,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,861,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 170,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,969,000 after acquiring an additional 8,769 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at $2,904,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 43,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,981,000 after buying an additional 7,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth $8,627,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE HCA opened at $314.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $77.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $318.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $346.05. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $289.98 and a one year high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.90 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of HCA Healthcare 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.67.

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.