Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 1,538 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,267 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,538 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $7,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HCA. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. now owns 8,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,595,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $230,000. Choreo LLC boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 6,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,800,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 19,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,864,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 2,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $825,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $321.95 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $313.85 and a 200-day moving average of $353.37. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly 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 last year, the business posted $5.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.89 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,415,579. This represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $1,363,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares in the company, valued at $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HCA shares. KeyCorp cut their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.67.

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.