J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Purchases 2,103 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 145.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,550 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,103 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $1,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 11,655,563 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,498,417,000 after purchasing an additional 116,826 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,871,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,159,882,000 after purchasing an additional 50,321 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,928,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $878,975,000 after purchasing an additional 19,121 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth $840,286,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 12,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,670,420.72. The trade was a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded down $7.22 on Friday, reaching $334.26. The company had a trading volume of 3,175,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,334,458. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $373.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $345.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $18.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.49 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 1,063.91% and a net margin of 8.07%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is presently 12.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays set a $416.00 target price on HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $410.00 target price on HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $336.00 target price (down previously from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $399.46.

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.