Eastern Bank Acquires New Shares in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 322.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,276,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397,883 shares during the last quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 53.3% in the 2nd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,472,000 after buying an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at approximately $150,548,000. Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 210.6% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 306,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,691,000 after purchasing an additional 208,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 843,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $253,020,000 after purchasing an additional 193,075 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.8 %

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $305.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.42 billion, a PE ratio of 13.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $319.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $353.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.00. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $276.50 and a 12 month high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on HCA shares. Barclays decreased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $396.00 to $392.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.27.

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.