Great Lakes Retirement Inc. Has $416,000 Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Great Lakes Retirement Inc. cut its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,538 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 92.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.79, for a total transaction of $981,728.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,647,967.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,138,652.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.79, for a total value of $981,728.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 have sold a total of 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HCA has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Truist Financial upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $356.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $311.47.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.7 %

HCA Healthcare stock traded up $2.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $334.14. The stock had a trading volume of 531,760 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,083,749. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.96 and a 12 month high of $334.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $309.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $272.98.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.85. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 996.30%. The firm had revenue of $17.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.49 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 13.91%.

About HCA Healthcare

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.