Challenger Wealth Management Purchases New Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Challenger Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $717,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $840,286,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 62.0% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,500,786 shares of the company's stock worth $450,461,000 after purchasing an additional 574,239 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 85.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,061,891 shares of the company's stock worth $318,727,000 after purchasing an additional 489,916 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 120.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,264,000 after acquiring an additional 476,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 12,016.0% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 467,437 shares of the company's stock worth $140,301,000 after buying an additional 463,579 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 12,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,670,420.72. This trade represents a 55.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HCA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Baird R W cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $336.00 price objective (down previously from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $385.47.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

NYSE:HCA traded up $0.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $378.73. 1,449,488 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,440,406. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The stock has a market cap of $91.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a fifty day moving average of $349.48 and a 200 day moving average of $329.96.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $0.70. The business had revenue of $18.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.26 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. HCA Healthcare's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.36 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.