HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Stock Position Cut by Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY decreased its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 42.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,985 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,235 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at $41,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HCA. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial dropped their target price 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. Bank of America dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays dropped 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 note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 52,702 shares in the company, valued at $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total transaction of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of HCA opened at $321.95 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $313.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $353.34. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14. The stock has a market cap of $81.55 billion, a PE ratio of 14.65, a PEG ratio of 1.11 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 earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) 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 previous year, the company posted $5.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.02%.

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.