Foster & Motley Inc. Grows Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,506 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 293 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $10,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE:HCA opened at $327.80 on Thursday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14. The firm has a market cap of $83.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $313.28 and a 200-day moving average of $353.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results 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 520.98% and a net margin of 8.52%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.90 EPS. Analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 21.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on HCA. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. StockNews.com lowered HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $382.19.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total transaction of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,415,579. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% 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.