Capital World Investors Boosts Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,928,452 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,121 shares during the period. Capital World Investors’ holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $878,975,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 571,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,467,000 after acquiring an additional 104,409 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth $688,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 174,946 shares during the period. American Trust bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at about $372,000. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth about $3,278,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of HCA opened at $334.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $328.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $334.13. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.90 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.72 dividend. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on HCA. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. KeyCorp cut their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $336.00 price objective (down from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $381.67.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.