Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys Shares of 125,738 HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 125,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,740,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.05% of HCA Healthcare at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 120.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company's stock worth $262,264,000 after acquiring an additional 476,756 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 120,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,931 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 18,040 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,415,000 after purchasing an additional 2,621 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 9,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,975,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Strategies Group Inc. increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 23,694 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,175,000 after purchasing an additional 3,495 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA traded up $2.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $381.29. 2,556,375 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,440,469. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The company's 50 day moving average price is $351.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $330.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.46.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. The company had revenue of $18.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.36 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict 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 Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is presently 12.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,670,420.72. The trade was a 55.38% decrease in their position. 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim assumed coverage on HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $384.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Baird R W downgraded HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $336.00 price target (down from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $385.47.

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.