Prakash Investment Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Prakash Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 5,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,086,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.4% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,532 shares of the company's stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 10,592 shares of the company's stock worth $3,153,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Funds Management Co LLC increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,003,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut HCA Healthcare from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $385.67.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of HCA Healthcare 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 $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded up $7.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $326.83. 1,600,183 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,642,535. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $313.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $350.53. The firm has a market cap of $81.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.64. 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 (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, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

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.