National Pension Service Acquires 43,320 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 7.6%, now owning approximately 613,611 shares valued at $212 million.
• HCA Healthcare reported earnings of $6.84 per share for the latest quarter, surpassing expectations and reflecting a 6.4% year-over-year revenue growth, totaling $18.61 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.72, representing a yield of 0.7%, with a favorable dividend payout ratio of 12.11%.

National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 7.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 613,611 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 43,320 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.26% of HCA Healthcare worth $212,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,077 shares of the company's stock worth $2,791,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 872 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 858 shares of the company's stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barden Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,921 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,009,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens raised shares of HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $416.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $423.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $398.58.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded down $1.94 on Monday, hitting $393.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,016,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,573,874. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $370.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $351.75. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.39.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.20 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.21% and a negative return on equity of 7,363.11%. The firm had revenue of $18.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.50 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.11%.

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.