HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Purchased by Graphene Investments SAS

Graphene Investments SAS boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,500 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the quarter. Graphene Investments SAS’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $324.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $313.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $353.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.64. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $289.98 and a 52-week high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm earned $5.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.89 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors 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 yield of 0.89%. This is a positive change 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. KeyCorp cut their price target on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,445,700. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by 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.