Bridgewater Associates LP Buys 220,512 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Bridgewater Associates LP raised its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 88.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 470,553 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 220,512 shares during the period. HCA Healthcare makes up 0.6% of Bridgewater Associates LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $141,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of HCA. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 50.0% during the fourth 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 position in HCA Healthcare by 99.0% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HCA shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp reduced 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.67.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE HCA opened at $340.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $83.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48. 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 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $327.61 and its 200 day moving average is $335.63.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.90 EPS. Research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

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.