Public Sector Pension Investment Board Boosts Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 706.7%, acquiring a total of 173,850 shares valued at approximately $60 million.
• HCA Healthcare recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.88 and a yield of 0.8%.
• Analysts' ratings on HCA Healthcare are largely positive, with a consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $395.69, amidst ongoing institutional interest.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 706.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,850 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 152,300 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.07% of HCA Healthcare worth $60,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.0% during 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 during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 19,121 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,017,971 shares of the company's stock worth $605,694,000 after acquiring an additional 223,248 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,865,771 shares of the company's stock worth $560,011,000 after acquiring an additional 81,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,781,459 shares of the company's stock worth $615,583,000 after acquiring an additional 587,036 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $390.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,416,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,586,285. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $417.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $370.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $350.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced 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. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 7,363.11% and a net margin of 8.21%. The firm had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.50 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors 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 0.7%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HCA. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $336.00 price objective (down from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $404.00 to $401.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Baird R W lowered HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $320.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $395.69.

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.