Of America Corp /De/ Bank Purchases 1,580 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Stock

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) major shareholder Of America Corp /De/ Bank acquired 1,580 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.28 per share, with a total value of $39,942.40. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company's shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $345.86. 1,226,315 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,348,308. 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 fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.15 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $325.79 and a 200 day moving average of $340.25.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $5.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

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HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on HCA shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $385.67.

Institutional Trading of HCA Healthcare

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at $840,286,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 62.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,500,786 shares of the company's stock valued at $450,461,000 after purchasing an additional 574,239 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 85.7% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,061,891 shares of the company's stock worth $318,727,000 after buying an additional 489,916 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 12,016.0% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 467,437 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,301,000 after purchasing an additional 463,579 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

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.