Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Sells 65 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lessened its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,045 shares of the company’s stock after selling 65 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. FMR LLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 322.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,276,909,000 after buying an additional 2,397,883 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 120.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,264,000 after buying an additional 476,756 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Group LP bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $150,548,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $74,121,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 226,952.9% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 231,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,513,000 after purchasing an additional 231,492 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA opened at $319.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $78.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $319.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $344.95. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results 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 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.90 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.