Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Acquires 111 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 897 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 111 shares during the quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vista Investment Partners II LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth $1,237,000. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 72.1% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 1,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 39,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,711,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 102,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,807,000 after purchasing an additional 11,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth about $229,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $313.49 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $318.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $346.27. The firm has a market cap of $77.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.08. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $289.98 and a 52-week high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the firm earned $5.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James cut HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays decreased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America decreased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.