Hixon Zuercher LLC Reduces Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Hixon Zuercher LLC lessened its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,910 shares of the company's stock after selling 886 shares during the period. Hixon Zuercher LLC's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $1,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 322.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company's stock worth $1,276,909,000 after buying an additional 2,397,883 shares during the period. Meritage Group LP acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at $150,548,000. Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 226,952.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 210.6% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 306,796 shares of the company's stock worth $124,691,000 after purchasing an additional 208,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 843,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,020,000 after purchasing an additional 193,075 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded up $0.46 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $334.76. The company had a trading volume of 727,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,669,825. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $313.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $353.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.64.

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, 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 previous year, the firm posted $5.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.89 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on HCA. StockNews.com cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial cut 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, Wells Fargo & Company lowered HCA Healthcare from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $385.67.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at $2,415,579. This represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,445,700. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.70% 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.