HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Bought by Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,717 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,618 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $10,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE HCA traded down $5.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $309.42. 1,023,674 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,096,014. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.16. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.96 and a 1 year high of $335.83. The stock has a market cap of $81.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $321.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $298.85.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

HCA Healthcare announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.59.

Insider Activity

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at $3,138,652.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total value of $494,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,544,316. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,055 shares of company stock valued at $2,503,100. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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.