Pacer Advisors Inc. Buys 6,798 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 46.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,315 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,798 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $6,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 322.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,276,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,397,883 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Group LP acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth approximately $150,548,000. Canoe Financial LP lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 226,952.9% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 231,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,513,000 after buying an additional 231,492 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 210.6% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 306,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,691,000 after acquiring an additional 208,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 843,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,020,000 after acquiring an additional 193,075 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE:HCA opened at $327.80 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $83.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $313.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $353.27.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 520.98%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 21.75 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 paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.85%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $1,363,950.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. 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 stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total transaction of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at $2,415,579. The trade was a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of 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. Bank of America lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday. One equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $382.19.

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.