HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA Stock: Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Increases Position

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,138 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,505 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare accounts for about 1.3% of Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $24,383,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. MidFirst Bank bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Latitude Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $472.94 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.11. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $353.99 and a 52-week high of $556.52. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $437.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $444.90.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $7.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.65 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $19.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.33 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.61% and a negative return on equity of 198.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 30.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HCA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Mizuho set a $495.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $496.00 to $521.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $475.70.

About HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare, Inc is a healthcare services company that operates hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, emergency care facilities, physician practices and other healthcare sites. Its facilities provide a broad range of services, including acute and emergency care, surgery, cardiology, oncology, women’s and children’s services, behavioral health and outpatient care.

The company serves patients primarily across the United States through a network of healthcare facilities in numerous states.