Bank of America Corp DE Makes New Investment in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 611,601 HCA Healthcare shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $238.5 million, giving it a 0.28% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 62.73% of HCA.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $462.64, despite several recent target-price reductions.
• HCA exceeded quarterly expectations with $7.59 in EPS and $20.23 billion in revenue, up 8.7% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, representing a 0.7% yield.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 611,601 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $238,457,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.28% of HCA Healthcare at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,069,974,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,262,513,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter worth $410,992,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at about $371,138,000. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth about $374,037,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HCA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $588.00 to $525.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $475.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 27th. UBS Group cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $635.00 to $579.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $476.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Friday, September 4th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $462.64.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of HCA stock opened at $431.18 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $93.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.10. The business's 50 day moving average is $405.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $430.49. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $353.99 and a twelve month high of $556.52.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $7.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.56 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $20.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.76 billion. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 244.79% and a net margin of 8.77%.HCA Healthcare's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.45%.

HCA Healthcare Profile

HCA Healthcare, Inc NYSE: HCA is a healthcare services company that operates hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Its network provides a broad range of medical services, including emergency care, inpatient and outpatient treatment, surgery, diagnostic services, and maternity care.

The company also operates ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care facilities, physician practices, and other outpatient locations. HCA Healthcare serves patients through facilities located across the United States, as well as through HCA Healthcare UK, its healthcare operations in the United Kingdom.

HCA Healthcare was founded in 1968 by Dr.

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