Whipplewood Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 103 HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 570,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,173,000 after buying an additional 19,637 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 78.6% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 2,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 136,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,096,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348 shares during the period. Keeler Thomas Management LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth approximately $797,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 9,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,835,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 4.7 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $305.79 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $417.14. 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 firm has a market cap of $75.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $315.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $349.39.

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

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.60% 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.