Wells Fargo & Company MN Decreases Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Wells Fargo & Company MN trimmed its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 233,108 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,597 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $69,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $435,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 2,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 19,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,850,000 after buying an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 527,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,411,000 after acquiring an additional 6,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pitcairn Co. raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 3,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the sale, the senior vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE:HCA opened at $331.05 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $81.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $327.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $337.96. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $417.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS 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 prior year, the firm earned $5.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on HCA. Barclays cut their price target on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.