Ameriprise Financial Inc. Boosts Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 65.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 438,680 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 173,330 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of HCA Healthcare worth $131,668,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 22.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 571,975 shares of the company's stock worth $232,467,000 after buying an additional 104,409 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 29,273 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,776 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 39,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,869,000 after buying an additional 1,691 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 3,287 shares of the company's stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Baird R W downgraded HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $336.00 price target (down previously from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $381.13.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $361.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $86.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.46. The business's fifty day moving average is $334.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $329.63. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $0.70. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. The company had revenue of $18.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.36 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.81%.

HCA Healthcare 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.

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