Retirement Systems of Alabama Purchases 159,303 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 350.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 204,812 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 159,303 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.08% of HCA Healthcare worth $55,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded down $7.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $306.69. 2,257,051 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,051,296. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $323.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $295.45. The company has a market cap of $81.11 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.96 and a twelve month high of $335.83.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 996.30% and a net margin of 8.07%. The business's revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value of $1,185,327.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,899 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,880,993. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value of $1,185,327.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,899 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,880,993. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HCA shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered HCA Healthcare from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $277.00 to $301.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $310.88.

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.