Trexquant Investment LP Takes Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 76,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,925,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on HCA. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $346.08 on Tuesday. 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 moving average price of $325.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $340.60. The company has a market capitalization of $85.20 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change 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 0.83%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

HCA Healthcare 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.