HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Stock Position Boosted by Magellan Asset Management Ltd

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 527,774 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,740 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare comprises about 1.7% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned 0.21% of HCA Healthcare worth $158,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $840,286,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,500,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,461,000 after buying an additional 574,239 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 120.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,264,000 after acquiring an additional 476,756 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth $150,548,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth about $74,121,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.67.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA opened at $347.48 on Thursday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $417.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $326.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $340.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $5.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

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.