Prospera Financial Services Inc Purchases 1,958 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 204.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,917 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,958 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $1,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bangor Savings Bank grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 112.5% in the second quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 284.0% in the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on HCA. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 target price for the company. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $396.00 to $392.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $395.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares in the company, valued at $18,445,700. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total transaction of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,415,579. This represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,155 shares of company stock valued at $5,608,990 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $332.22 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $380.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $357.94. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $245.84 and a one year high of $417.14. The company has a market cap of $84.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.12.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.