Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Takes $369,000 Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,084 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $369,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the first quarter worth $28,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 888.9% during the first quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 344.0% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 111 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 99.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 191 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth $64,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total transaction of $5,797,585.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,670,420.72. This represents a 55.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on HCA shares. Morgan Stanley set a $410.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Baird R W lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stephens upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $336.00 target price (down previously from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $399.21.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of HCA traded down $1.69 on Friday, reaching $360.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,029,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,581,210. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.05, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $376.24 and a 200-day moving average of $343.58.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $0.70. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 1,063.91%. The company had revenue of $18.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.36 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is 12.81%.

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.