IFP Advisors Inc Has $2.84 Million Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 23.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,444 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,777 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 209.0% in the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 18,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,579,000 after purchasing an additional 12,571 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,060,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 37,869 shares of the company's stock worth $11,366,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $21,480,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on HCA shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased 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 research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA Healthcare stock traded down $15.16 on Friday, reaching $305.79. 3,469,113 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,740,103. The stock has a market cap of $75.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $315.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $349.91. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14. 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 (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business earned $5.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is 13.11%.

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.