FORA Capital LLC Takes Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 24,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,309,000. HCA Healthcare accounts for 0.8% of FORA Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $18,044,000. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 39,543 shares of the company's stock worth $11,869,000 after buying an additional 1,691 shares during the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $1,122,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 116,075 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,840,000 after purchasing an additional 8,329 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 120.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,264,000 after purchasing an additional 476,756 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

NYSE HCA traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $353.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 979,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,405,867. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $289.98 and a 1-year high of $417.14. The company's 50-day moving average is $335.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $328.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.46.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. The company had revenue of $18.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.36 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $381.13.

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.