Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. Purchases 2,976 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 15.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,636 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,976 shares during the period. HCA Healthcare comprises about 1.5% of Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $7,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 888.9% in the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 344.0% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 111 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 99.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 191 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the 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 owned 12,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,670,420.72. This represents a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:HCA traded down $5.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $372.84. The company had a trading volume of 943,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,459,306. The business's fifty day moving average is $370.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $338.21. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The firm has a market cap of $89.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.19.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $0.70. The firm had revenue of $18.32 billion during 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 was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.36 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $404.00 price target (up from $376.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Guggenheim began coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $320.00 to $385.00 in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $336.00 target price (down from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $410.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $395.71.

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.