Bamco Inc. NY Has $1.95 Million Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Bamco Inc. NY lowered its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 64.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,500 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,800 shares during the quarter. Bamco Inc. NY's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $1,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HCA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $840,286,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 62.0% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,500,786 shares of the company's stock worth $450,461,000 after buying an additional 574,239 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 85.7% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,061,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $318,727,000 after acquiring an additional 489,916 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $262,264,000 after purchasing an additional 476,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $74,121,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $353.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 979,511 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,404,367. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $289.98 and a one year high of $417.14. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $335.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $329.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.46.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $0.70. The business had revenue of $18.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.26 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.36 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on HCA Healthcare from $384.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued 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 report on Monday, April 28th. 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. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $381.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.