HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Acquired by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,288 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on HCA shares. StockNews.com lowered HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $316.18 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $313.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $352.55. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $289.98 and a 1-year high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $80.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

HCA Healthcare Company 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.