PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co Makes New $1.14 Million Investment in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,140,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth $840,286,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 40,527.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,703,907 shares of the company's stock worth $5,887,850,000 after purchasing an additional 1,699,713 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 62.0% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,500,786 shares of the company's stock worth $450,461,000 after buying an additional 574,239 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 85.7% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,061,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $318,727,000 after acquiring an additional 489,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 120.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,264,000 after purchasing an additional 476,756 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $336.00 price objective (down previously from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $320.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $410.00 price objective on HCA Healthcare and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Barclays set a $416.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Seven 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $392.47.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA Healthcare stock traded up $4.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $376.57. 1,374,261 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,459,618. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $359.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $333.79. The firm has a market cap of $90.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.49.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $0.70. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 1,063.91% and a net margin of 8.07%. The firm had revenue of $18.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is 12.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In related news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was 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 now directly owns 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.