American Century Companies Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 36.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,962 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,623 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $9,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HCA. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,503,849 shares of the company's stock worth $1,351,830,000 after buying an additional 23,177 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,669,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $660,842,000 after purchasing an additional 174,946 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,500,786 shares of the company's stock worth $450,461,000 after purchasing an additional 574,239 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,149,043 shares of the company's stock worth $344,885,000 after buying an additional 6,590 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 476,756 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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 shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded down $2.03 on Monday, hitting $329.63. 1,999,060 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,366,889. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $81.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $327.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $338.52.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) 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 net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on HCA shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays reduced their price target on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.