Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $61.11 Million Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc trimmed its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 203,583 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,422 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $61,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HCA. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,309,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 2,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $868,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Diligent Investors LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 110.6% in the 4th quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. Consulta Ltd boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Consulta Ltd now owns 550,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,082,000 after buying an additional 275,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crestline Management LP raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 414.6% during the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 4,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 3,317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $353.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $85.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $335.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $328.86. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $417.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.75 by $0.70. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. The business had revenue of $18.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.36 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 12.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on HCA shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America cut their price target on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, 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 note on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $381.13.

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.