1,647,278 Shares in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Bought by Nuveen LLC

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired 1,647,278 shares of HCA Healthcare, valued at approximately $569 million, representing about 0.68% ownership of the company.
• HCA Healthcare's quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $6.84, exceeding estimates, and a revenue of $18.61 billion, marking a 6.4% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, which is set to be paid on September 30th, translating to an annualized yield of 0.8%.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,647,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $569,217,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.68% of HCA Healthcare as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,077 shares of the company's stock worth $2,791,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 872 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 858 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barden Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,921 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,009,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $404.00 to $401.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $320.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $416.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $395.69.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 2.3%

NYSE HCA opened at $381.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $369.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $349.36. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The company has a market capitalization of $89.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.05, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.39.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.20 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.21% and a negative return on equity of 7,363.11%. The business had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.50 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is currently 12.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 12,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,670,420.72. The trade was a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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