Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Takes $2.80 Million Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 8,104 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,801,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HCA. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 53.9% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,630 shares of the company's stock worth $1,600,000 after buying an additional 1,622 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,491,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 17.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,704,000 after buying an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 145.3% during the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 3,550 shares of the company's stock worth $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 2,103 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded up $2.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $356.84. 1,369,756 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,609,565. The business's 50-day moving average price is $371.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $346.78. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Baird R W lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $401.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday. 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 research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $396.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

HCA Healthcare 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.