ERn Financial LLC Purchases 61 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

ERn Financial LLC grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,875 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 61 shares during the quarter. ERn Financial LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,397,883 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,669,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,842,000 after purchasing an additional 174,946 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 2.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,487,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,511,000 after buying an additional 41,190 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,339,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,467,000 after purchasing an additional 143,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Darsana Capital Partners LP increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 53.3% in the second quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,472,000 after buying an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction 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 $18,445,700. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $306.34 on Thursday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $276.50 and a 1 year high of $417.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.64. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $319.34 and its 200 day moving average is $353.44.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

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

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.