905 Shares in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Bought by Alta Advisers Ltd

Alta Advisers Ltd purchased 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $313,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the first quarter worth $28,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 888.9% in the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 344.0% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 111 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 99.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 191 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE:HCA traded down $5.20 on Thursday, hitting $372.84. The stock had a trading volume of 943,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,461,363. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The business's fifty day moving average is $370.01 and its 200 day moving average is $338.21. The company has a market cap of $89.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.47. 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $0.70. The firm had revenue of $18.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.26 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 1,063.91% and a net margin of 8.07%. The business's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was 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 directly owned 12,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,670,420.72. This represents a 55.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on HCA. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $336.00 price objective (down from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays set a $416.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $410.00 price objective on HCA Healthcare and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $320.00 to $385.00 in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Eight 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $395.71.

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.