Federated Hermes Inc. Has $23.95 Million Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 88,472 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $23,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

NYSE:HCA opened at $305.11 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.18. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.96 and a 52 week high of $335.83. The company has a 50-day moving average of $324.88 and a 200-day moving average of $292.40.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.85. The business 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%. HCA Healthcare’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 13.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total transaction of $1,185,327.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,880,993. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other HCA Healthcare news, 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 transaction of $289,299.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $520,474. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total transaction of $1,185,327.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,880,993. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on HCA. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $301.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $356.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.