Stephens Inc. AR Grows Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,852 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $3,598,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.3% during the third quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 118,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,317,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 8.1% in the third quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 1,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 118.5% in the 3rd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 35,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,425,000 after buying an additional 19,247 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,011,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meitav Investment House Ltd. purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,166,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total transaction of $3,221,340.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,438,494.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $365.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.11.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA stock opened at $357.19 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $392.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $354.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.68. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $225.32 and a 12-month high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.85%.

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.