Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. Has $285,000 Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. raised its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,054 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $285,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HCA. abrdn plc lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 164,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,444,000 after acquiring an additional 7,476 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at $10,085,000. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 60,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,425,000 after acquiring an additional 7,476 shares during the period. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $1,100,000. Finally, Comerica Bank increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 623.3% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 43,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,701,000 after purchasing an additional 37,488 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.04, for a total value of $203,450.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 290 shares in the company, valued at $90,491.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Sammie S. Mosier sold 1,645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $513,240.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,646 shares in the company, valued at $2,385,552. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 652 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.04, for a total transaction of $203,450.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 290 shares in the company, valued at $90,491.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE HCA traded up $9.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $319.43. 1,151,769 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,090,380. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.65. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.96 and a 12-month high of $335.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.18. The business has a 50 day moving average of $324.47 and a 200-day moving average of $293.19.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.85. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 996.30%. The business had revenue of $17.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on HCA. Barclays began coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $356.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $301.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.05.

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.