HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,267 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,538 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $7,284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

NYSE HCA opened at $321.95 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $313.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $353.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The company has a market cap of $81.55 billion, a PE ratio of 14.65, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.89 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.02%.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,415,579. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on HCA shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James lowered HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com cut HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare 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.