HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 137.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,569 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 116,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,840,000 after purchasing an additional 8,329 shares during the period. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 35,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,567,000 after buying an additional 6,960 shares during the last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 66,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,977,000 after purchasing an additional 15,146 shares in the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 1,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.27.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:HCA opened at $325.18 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.60, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $314.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $352.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $278.68 and a 12 month high of $417.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,415,579. The trade was a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.