Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $357,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HCA. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 120.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,264,000 after acquiring an additional 476,756 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth about $1,021,000. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5.2% in the first quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 1,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,511,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,673 shares of the company's stock worth $1,102,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total value of $5,797,585.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,670,420.72. The trade was a 55.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded down $0.91 on Friday, reaching $370.76. 872,296 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,446,718. The firm's 50-day moving average is $357.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $332.83. The company has a market capitalization of $89.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.08. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $417.14.

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

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is 12.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Barclays set a $416.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $320.00 to $385.00 in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $384.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $392.47.

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.