Czech National Bank Increases Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,069 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,526 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $14,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 99.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 191 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were 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 now directly owns 12,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,670,420.72. The trade was a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on HCA. Robert W. Baird reiterated 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. Barclays lifted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $366.00 to $416.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Guggenheim initiated coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $384.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $388.80.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $381.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,058,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,441,924. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $289.98 and a one year high of $417.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $354.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $331.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The company has a market cap of $91.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.46.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $0.70. The business had revenue of $18.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 in the previous year, the company earned $5.36 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.