Distillate Capital Partners LLC Takes $24.16 Million Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Distillate Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 80,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,160,000. HCA Healthcare makes up about 1.2% of Distillate Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 1,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,838,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 10,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,153,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:HCA opened at $333.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $82.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The company’s 50 day moving average is $327.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $336.54. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $5.90 EPS. Analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HCA. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.