Groupama Asset Managment Boosts Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 19.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,131 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,601 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $14,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 1,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,838,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 10,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,153,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

NYSE HCA opened at $346.08 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $325.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $340.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.08. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $289.98 and a 52-week high of $417.14. The stock has a market cap of $85.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.90 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was 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 presently 13.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on HCA shares. Truist Financial decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value 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 $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.