Apollon Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 38.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,400 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 944 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,152,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,452,000 after acquiring an additional 67,332 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,150,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,860,000 after acquiring an additional 30,072 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 5.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,146,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,081,000 after purchasing an additional 102,025 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,594,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,177,000 after purchasing an additional 57,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.1% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 605,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,101,000 after acquiring an additional 6,368 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA stock opened at $321.90 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.96 and a 12-month 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $321.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $299.35.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 674.49% and a net margin of 8.20%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.93 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.74 EPS for the current year.

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

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total transaction of $494,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,544,316. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $520,474. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total transaction of $494,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,124 shares in the company, valued at $10,544,316. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,793 shares of company stock valued at $1,198,033 over the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $316.59.

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.