Premier Fund Managers Ltd Buys 40,049 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Key Points

• Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 50.1%, now owning 120,049 shares valued at approximately $41.1 million.
• HCA Healthcare's stock recently opened at $340.31 with a market cap of $81.87 billion and a P/E ratio of 14.30.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.85%.

Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 50.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,049 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 40,049 shares during the quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $41,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 40,527.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,703,907 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,887,850,000 after purchasing an additional 1,699,713 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6,237.9% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,350,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,815,000 after buying an additional 1,329,618 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 489,916 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 12,016.0% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 467,437 shares of the company's stock worth $140,301,000 after purchasing an additional 463,579 shares during the period. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1,415.0% during the 1st quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 435,423 shares of the company's stock worth $150,472,000 after purchasing an additional 406,682 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Bank of America downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $394.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Stephens upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $396.46.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded up $2.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $356.36. The company had a trading volume of 931,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,605,932. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.86. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $289.98 and a one year high of $417.14. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $371.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $346.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.47.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $18.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.49 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.21% and a negative return on equity of 7,363.11%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In related news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 12,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,670,420.72. This represents a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.