QRG Capital Management Inc. Grows Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 23.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,541 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,878 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.05% of HCA Healthcare worth $45,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanders Capital LLC increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 11,655,563 shares of the company's stock worth $3,498,417,000 after buying an additional 116,826 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,503,849 shares of the company's stock worth $1,351,830,000 after buying an additional 23,177 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,871,057 shares of the company's stock worth $1,159,882,000 after purchasing an additional 50,321 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,928,452 shares of the company's stock worth $878,975,000 after purchasing an additional 19,121 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth approximately $840,286,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:HCA traded up $3.50 on Tuesday, reaching $372.09. 1,334,129 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,457,072. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.49. The company's 50 day moving average is $359.19 and its 200-day moving average is $333.52. 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 1-year low of $289.98 and a 1-year high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $0.70. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 1,063.91%. The company had revenue of $18.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.36 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 12,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,670,420.72. The trade was a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays set a $416.00 price objective on HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Stephens upgraded HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Baird R W cut HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $320.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $392.47.

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.