Vista Investment Partners II LLC Acquires 989 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Vista Investment Partners II LLC boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 24.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,112 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 989 shares during the quarter. Vista Investment Partners II LLC's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $1,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter worth $28,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 888.9% in the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 344.0% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 111 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total value of $5,797,585.36. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.1%

HCA stock traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $379.67. 425,943 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,464,017. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $366.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $337.09. The company has a market capitalization of $91.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.88, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.49. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

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

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HCA. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $410.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. 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. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $336.00 target price (down previously from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Stephens raised HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given 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 price target of $395.71.

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.