Simplicity Wealth LLC Invests $229,000 in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,838,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 2.4% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 10,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,153,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1.6% in the third quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 700 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 3.8 %

NYSE HCA opened at $323.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.60 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14. The business’s 50-day moving average is $317.93 and its 200 day moving average is $346.50.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.