HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC lowered its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 20.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,980 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,343 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $14,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE HCA traded up $3.74 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $321.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 351,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,664,435. 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 firm has a market cap of $79.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48. The business's 50 day moving average is $328.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $333.19. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (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 in the prior year, the firm posted $5.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 0.90%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is 13.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HCA shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $336.00 price objective (down previously from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased 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 report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $381.67.

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.