Sovran Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 3,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $990,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,241,000 after purchasing an additional 4,285 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth $150,548,000. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at $18,044,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at about $869,000. Finally, NRI Wealth Management LC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $2,896,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE HCA opened at $323.71 on Wednesday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $313.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $353.26. 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 company has a market capitalization of $81.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.90 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 12.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In related news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total transaction of $1,023,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at $2,415,579. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About HCA Healthcare

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.