Equitable Trust Co. Has $61.19 Million Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 35.8%, now owning 177,092 shares valued at approximately $61.19 million.
• HCA Healthcare's stock saw varied analyst ratings; Robert W. Baird downgraded its target price to $336.00, while Royal Bank of Canada raised its price objective to $404.00.
• The company reported earnings of $6.45 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.70 and demonstrating a 5.7% year-over-year revenue growth.

Equitable Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 35.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 177,092 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 46,664 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare comprises approximately 3.4% of Equitable Trust Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Equitable Trust Co. owned approximately 0.07% of HCA Healthcare worth $61,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanders Capital LLC increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 11,655,563 shares of the company's stock worth $3,498,417,000 after buying an additional 116,826 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,871,057 shares of the company's stock worth $1,159,882,000 after buying an additional 50,321 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,928,452 shares of the company's stock worth $878,975,000 after buying an additional 19,121 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $840,286,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,017,971 shares of the company's stock worth $605,694,000 after purchasing an additional 223,248 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on HCA shares. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $336.00 target price (down from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stephens raised HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Guggenheim began coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $404.00 price objective (up from $376.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $399.46.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of HCA opened at $340.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.47. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $374.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $345.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $0.70. The business had revenue of $18.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.26 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 1,063.91% and a net margin of 8.07%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.36 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total transaction of $5,797,585.36. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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