HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Position Boosted by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,017,971 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 223,248 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.80% of HCA Healthcare worth $605,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth $840,286,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 62.0% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,500,786 shares of the company's stock worth $450,461,000 after acquiring an additional 574,239 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 85.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,061,891 shares of the company's stock valued at $318,727,000 after purchasing an additional 489,916 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 120.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,264,000 after acquiring an additional 476,756 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at about $74,121,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA Healthcare stock traded up $5.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $348.11. The company had a trading volume of 802,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,398,703. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $331.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $331.12. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $85.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $0.70. The firm 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.36 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is 12.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim assumed coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $381.13.

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.