Proficio Capital Partners LLC Acquires 233 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 45.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 745 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,241,000 after buying an additional 4,285 shares during the period. Meritage Group LP purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth about $150,548,000. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at about $18,044,000. NRI Wealth Management LC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,896,000. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 39,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,869,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA stock opened at $341.94 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $323.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $341.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.90 EPS. Analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on HCA. Truist Financial decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

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.