State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 1,582 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 116,541 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,582 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $31,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,152,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,452,000 after acquiring an additional 67,332 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,150,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,860,000 after buying an additional 30,072 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,146,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,081,000 after acquiring an additional 102,025 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 3.7% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,594,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,177,000 after purchasing an additional 57,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 605,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,101,000 after purchasing an additional 6,368 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays started coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $356.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.88.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $289,299.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $520,474. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total transaction of $1,305,067.02. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $289,299.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $520,474. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,840 shares of company stock worth $4,588,869. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

NYSE HCA traded down $7.52 on Friday, hitting $306.60. The company had a trading volume of 2,257,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,107,586. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $324.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $294.45. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.96 and a 12-month high of $335.83. The company has a market capitalization of $81.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 996.30% and a net margin of 8.07%. The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.91%.

HCA Healthcare announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.