Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,807 shares of the company’s stock after selling 184 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $1,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA stock opened at $342.25 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14. The firm has a market cap of $84.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $324.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $341.56. 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 (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HCA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

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.