Markel Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Markel Group Inc. grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 56,580 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,650 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $16,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 322.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,276,909,000 after buying an additional 2,397,883 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 120.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,264,000 after purchasing an additional 476,756 shares during the period. Meritage Group LP purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth about $150,548,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at about $74,121,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 226,952.9% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 231,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,513,000 after buying an additional 231,492 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA opened at $336.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $317.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $346.96. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $289.98 and a 52-week high of $417.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm posted $5.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. 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 payout ratio is 13.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on HCA. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Company 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.