Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Increases Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. raised its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 63.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,700 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,200 shares during the quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $14,917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,838,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.3% during the fourth 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 during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.6% during the third quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,003,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.2 %

HCA stock opened at $333.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.08. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $289.98 and a one year high of $417.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $320.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $343.89.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm posted $5.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price target 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. Barclays cut their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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.