Independent Advisor Alliance Boosts Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,142 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HCA. Darsana Capital Partners LP raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 53.3% during the second quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,472,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 741,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,110,000 after purchasing an additional 19,812 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 16.4% during the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 631,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,002,000 after buying an additional 88,948 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 550,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,802,000 after acquiring an additional 58,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 2.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 520,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,426,000 after purchasing an additional 11,861 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,678 shares in the company, valued at $11,438,494.76. The trade was a 21.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the insider now owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at $2,415,579. The trade was a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,155 shares of company stock valued at $5,608,990. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $475.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Truist Financial raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $396.00 to $392.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $380.29.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 1.1 %

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $325.47 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $245.84 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $373.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $358.28. The company has a market capitalization of $82.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.