University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. Grows Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 56.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,315 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,646 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.'s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 22.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 571,975 shares of the company's stock valued at $232,467,000 after buying an additional 104,409 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 137.7% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the company's stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $320,000. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,118 shares of the company's stock worth $336,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,813 shares of the company's stock valued at $844,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA stock traded up $0.22 during trading on Monday, hitting $376.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,138,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,441,874. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $417.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The stock's 50-day moving average is $346.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $329.12.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $0.70. The firm had revenue of $18.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.26 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. The company's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.36 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is currently 12.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on HCA. Barclays reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $384.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $381.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total transaction of $5,797,585.36. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 12,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,670,420.72. The trade was a 55.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.