Natixis Advisors LLC Has $39.44 Million Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 6.5% during the 1st quarter, bringing its total position to approximately $39.44 million after acquiring additional shares.
• Several institutional investors have also raised their stakes, with Brown Advisory Inc. leading with a 53.9% increase, indicating growing confidence in HCA Healthcare's performance.
• HCA Healthcare reported an EPS of $6.84 for the last quarter, surpassing expectations and reflecting a 6.4% revenue increase year-over-year.

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 6.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 114,123 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,921 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $39,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 11,655,563 shares of the company's stock worth $3,498,417,000 after purchasing an additional 116,826 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,928,452 shares of the company's stock valued at $878,975,000 after acquiring an additional 19,121 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,017,971 shares of the company's stock worth $605,694,000 after buying an additional 223,248 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,865,771 shares of the company's stock worth $560,011,000 after purchasing an additional 81,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 40,527.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,703,907 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,887,850,000 after buying an additional 1,699,713 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded up $2.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $356.84. 1,369,756 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,559,973. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $370.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $347.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.39.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.50 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.11%.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total value of $5,797,585.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,670,420.72. This represents a 55.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on HCA shares. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $401.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $336.00 price target (down previously from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $396.46.

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.