HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA Stake Lessened by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group reduced its HCA Healthcare stake by 7% in the second quarter, selling 2,684 shares and retaining 35,509 shares valued at approximately $13.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 62.73% of the company.
• HCA Healthcare reported quarterly earnings of $7.59 per share on revenue of $20.23 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue increased 8.7% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share, yielding approximately 0.7%.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with the stock receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $462.64, compared with a recent price of $427.51.

Baird Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,509 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,684 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $13,845,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 38,348.7% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 89,141,330 shares of the company's stock worth $34,755,313,000 after buying an additional 88,909,485 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,069,974,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,566,643 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,532,563,000 after buying an additional 76,039 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,999,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,334,040,000 after buying an additional 40,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 20.5% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,707,473 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,835,397,000 after acquiring an additional 799,761 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

NYSE HCA opened at $427.51 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $404.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $433.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.10. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $353.99 and a 52-week high of $556.52.

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

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on HCA shares. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $500.00 to $431.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $525.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on HCA Healthcare from $588.00 to $525.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $435.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $462.64.

About HCA Healthcare

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HCA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.