Hixon Zuercher LLC Acquires New Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Hixon Zuercher LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 5,796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,356,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 17.4% in the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the first quarter valued at approximately $597,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 14.5% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,327,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 13,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,594,000 after acquiring an additional 987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1,685.7% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on HCA. UBS Group increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research raised HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total transaction of $3,221,340.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,438,494.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $366.66 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $92.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.68. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $226.44 and a 52-week high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $392.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $355.77.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 11.85%.

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.