Vontobel Holding Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,334 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $3,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 92.9% during the third quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE HCA opened at $311.02 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $82.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.65. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $215.96 and a one year high of $335.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $320.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $280.82.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $17.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.51 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 996.30% and a net margin of 8.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.64 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.91%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $289,299.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $520,474. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 344 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $321.97, for a total transaction of $110,757.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,452 shares in the company, valued at $789,470.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $289,299.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $520,474. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,840 shares of company stock worth $4,588,869. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HCA. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $277.00 to $301.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Truist Financial boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.05.

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.