Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $6.40 Million Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 46.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,315 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,798 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $6,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $327.80 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $313.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $353.27.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted 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 520.98% and a net margin of 8.52%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.90 EPS. Analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 21.75 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.85%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HCA shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $382.19.

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.