Magellan Asset Management Ltd Purchases 6,740 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 527,774 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,740 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare comprises approximately 1.7% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $158,411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,503,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,351,830,000 after purchasing an additional 23,177 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,871,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,159,882,000 after buying an additional 50,321 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $840,286,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,669,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,842,000 after purchasing an additional 174,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,500,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $450,461,000 after buying an additional 574,239 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.67.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of HCA Healthcare 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE HCA opened at $347.48 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $326.35 and a 200-day moving average of $340.30. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The company has a market cap of $85.55 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the company posted $5.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 dividend yield of 0.83%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

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.