Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Invests $325,000 in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV bought a new position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 799 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,044,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 11.0% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6.6% during the first quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 1,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $547,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 146.8% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 194,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,858,000 after purchasing an additional 115,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.8% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 13,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,569,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HCA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $367.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $395.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $475.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.00.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA stock opened at $345.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $87.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.68. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $387.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $357.11. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $237.57 and a one year high of $417.14. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid 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 0.76%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 52,702 shares in the company, valued at $18,445,700. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total value of $3,221,340.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,678 shares in the company, valued at $11,438,494.76. This trade represents a 21.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,155 shares of company stock worth $5,608,990. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.