Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Buys Shares of 5,384 HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,860,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 30.0% during the 1st quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the first quarter worth approximately $246,000. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC now owns 25,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,639,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 59,141 shares of the company's stock worth $20,436,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 9.7% during the first quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $531,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In related news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 12,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,670,420.72. This trade represents a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.1%

HCA Healthcare stock traded up $3.98 on Thursday, hitting $378.17. 1,837,990 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,475,753. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $365.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $336.33. The firm has a market cap of $90.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.49. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $0.70. The business had revenue of $18.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.26 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 1,063.91%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.36 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is 12.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens upgraded HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Barclays set a $416.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $404.00 price objective (up from $376.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $410.00 price target on HCA Healthcare and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $394.33.

HCA Healthcare 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.