HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Position Increased by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,689 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,843 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $6,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at about $18,044,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 116,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,840,000 after purchasing an additional 8,329 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 120.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,264,000 after purchasing an additional 476,756 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 120,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $268,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total transaction of $5,797,585.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 12,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,670,420.72. This trade represents a 55.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Baird R W downgraded HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $384.00 to $376.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $381.13.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $387.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $93.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.08. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $417.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $340.72 and its 200-day moving average is $328.51.

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

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.81%.

HCA Healthcare 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.