Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Increases Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,076 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of HCA. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on HCA shares. 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James lowered HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays reduced their price target on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial reduced their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 1.6 %

HCA stock opened at $319.82 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $319.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $344.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $289.98 and a 52-week high of $417.14. The firm has a market cap of $78.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the company posted $5.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 0.90%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.11%.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.