New York State Common Retirement Fund Raises Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 483,610 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,167 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.18% of HCA Healthcare worth $130,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 253 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 11,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at $3,138,652.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 652 shares of the company’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 transaction of $203,450.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 290 shares in the company, valued at $90,491.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded up $8.34 on Tuesday, reaching $318.65. 348,514 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,079,762. The company’s 50 day moving average is $324.59 and its 200-day moving average is $292.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.65. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.96 and a fifty-two week high of $335.83.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $17.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 13.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HCA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays started coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $356.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.05.

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.