Sentry Investment Management LLC Has $283,000 Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,045 shares of the company’s stock after selling 112 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $283,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 92.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:HCA opened at $322.39 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.96 and a 12 month high of $335.83. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $320.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $280.13. The stock has a market cap of $85.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.65.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.85. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 996.30%. The firm had revenue of $17.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.49 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 13.91%.

HCA Healthcare announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on HCA shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com cut HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $277.00 to $301.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Sammie S. Mosier sold 1,645 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $513,240.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,385,552. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Sammie S. Mosier sold 1,645 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $513,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 7,646 shares in the company, valued at $2,385,552. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $289,299.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $520,474. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869 over the last ninety days. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.