Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Invests $255,000 in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,152,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,452,000 after purchasing an additional 67,332 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.4% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,150,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,860,000 after acquiring an additional 30,072 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,146,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,081,000 after purchasing an additional 102,025 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 3.7% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,594,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,177,000 after buying an additional 57,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.1% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 605,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,101,000 after acquiring an additional 6,368 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $310.31 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $324.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $292.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.96 and a 12-month high of $335.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.65.

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

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. 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 dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 13.91%.

HCA Healthcare declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on HCA shares. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Truist Financial raised 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $356.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $314.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In related 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 value of $1,305,067.02. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,138,652.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,200 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.79, for a total transaction of $981,728.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,647,967.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.70% 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.