Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $158.50 Million Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 585,573 shares of the company’s stock after selling 62,839 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $158,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA traded down $7.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $306.69. The company had a trading volume of 2,257,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,051,296. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.96 and a twelve month high of $335.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $323.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $295.00. The company has a market capitalization of $81.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.65.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 996.30%. HCA Healthcare’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.93 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.91%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $289,299.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $520,474. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value of $1,185,327.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,880,993. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $289,299.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $520,474. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,840 shares of company stock worth $4,588,869 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $301.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.88.

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.