SouthState Corp Lowers Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

SouthState Corp decreased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 486 shares of the company’s stock after selling 63 shares during the period. SouthState Corp’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 39.9% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 105,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,591,000 after buying an additional 1,721 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 108,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,494,000 after acquiring an additional 14,550 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $269,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 169.4% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 7,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,047,000 after buying an additional 4,756 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA traded down $1.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $307.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,044,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,189,320. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $322.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $297.17. The company has a market capitalization of $81.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.66. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.96 and a 52 week high of $335.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.93 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,138,652.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the business’s 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 directly 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 7,127 shares of company stock worth $2,218,364 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $356.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.59.

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.