Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys 27,139 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 20.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,715 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,139 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.06% of HCA Healthcare worth $48,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 99.0% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 191 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HCA. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company 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. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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 note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $381.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the firm's 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,670,420.72. This trade represents a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded up $1.99 on Friday, reaching $387.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,789,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,427,257. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14. The company has a market cap of $93.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The business's 50 day moving average is $339.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $328.55.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $18.26 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. HCA Healthcare's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.36 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is currently 12.81%.

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.