Signaturefd LLC Sells 61 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Signaturefd LLC reduced its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,809 shares of the company’s stock after selling 61 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $319.43 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $324.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $293.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 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.

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

HCA Healthcare declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 344 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.97, for a total value of $110,757.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,470.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 344 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.97, for a total value of $110,757.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $789,470.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,200 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.79, for a total transaction of $981,728.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,647,967.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $277.00 to $301.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.05.

HCA Healthcare Company 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.