HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Purchased by Darsana Capital Partners LP

Darsana Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,225,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares during the period. HCA Healthcare accounts for 11.2% of Darsana Capital Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Darsana Capital Partners LP owned approximately 0.48% of HCA Healthcare worth $367,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 11,655,563 shares of the company's stock worth $3,498,417,000 after purchasing an additional 116,826 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,503,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,351,830,000 after acquiring an additional 23,177 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,871,057 shares of the company's stock worth $1,159,882,000 after acquiring an additional 50,321 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,928,452 shares of the company's stock worth $878,975,000 after purchasing an additional 19,121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $840,286,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 1.5 %

HCA Healthcare stock traded up $5.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $348.11. The stock had a trading volume of 802,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,400,124. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $331.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $330.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14. The firm has a market cap of $85.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48.

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

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is 12.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on HCA shares. Guggenheim began coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $336.00 price target (down from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $381.13.

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.