Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Raises Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,231 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $9,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,264,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $665,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 948 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $694,985,000. Finally, Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HCA. UBS Group raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $438.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $327.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $359.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total value of $659,327.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 17,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,303,912.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.20, for a total value of $1,440,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,569,729.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total transaction of $659,327.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 17,755 shares in the company, valued at $6,303,912.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,202 shares of company stock worth $6,407,273 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA opened at $394.68 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $362.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $338.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.67. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.96 and a 1 year high of $403.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.06.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $17.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.05 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 553.13% and a net margin of 8.40%. HCA Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

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.