Scion Asset Management LLC Purchases Shares of 15,000 HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Scion Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 15,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,502,000. HCA Healthcare comprises about 5.8% of Scion Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 1,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,838,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 10,592 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,153,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 700 shares of the company's stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,195 shares of the company's stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA stock opened at $387.49 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $340.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $328.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $417.14. The company has a market cap of $93.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.46.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $18.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.26 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. The company's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued 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 12.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total transaction of $5,797,585.36. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,670,420.72. The trade was a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on HCA. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays dropped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America lowered 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. Baird R W cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $384.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.

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