Park Avenue Securities LLC Purchases 1,540 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 12.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,247 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,540 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $4,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,021,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 131.4% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 50,496 shares of the company's stock worth $15,156,000 after purchasing an additional 28,672 shares during the period. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 7,742 shares of the company's stock worth $2,324,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,288 shares of the company's stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 12,646 shares in the company, 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 insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HCA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $384.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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 research note on Thursday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $336.00 price objective (down previously from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Stephens upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $388.80.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE:HCA opened at $384.52 on Monday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $355.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $331.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The company has a market cap of $92.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.49. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $0.70. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. The firm had revenue of $18.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.36 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 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 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.81%.

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.

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