Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Buys New Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 15,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,786,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,241,000 after purchasing an additional 4,285 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Group LP acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth $150,548,000. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth $18,044,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth $869,000. Finally, NRI Wealth Management LC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth about $2,896,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on HCA. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Raymond James downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.5 %

HCA opened at $329.97 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.24 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $320.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $344.03. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $289.98 and a 1-year high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

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.