HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Set to Pay Quarterly Dividend of $0.78

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, October 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share on Tuesday, December 29th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th.

HCA Healthcare has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.3% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 6 years. HCA Healthcare has a payout ratio of 11.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect HCA Healthcare to earn $32.04 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.12 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 9.7%.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $451.38 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $433.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $444.96. HCA Healthcare has a 1-year low of $353.99 and a 1-year high of $556.52.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $7.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.65 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $19.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.33 billion. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare will post 29.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HCA. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,069,974,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,707,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,835,397,000 after acquiring an additional 799,761 shares during the last quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 46.7% in the 2nd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,100,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,879,000 after purchasing an additional 350,000 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth approximately $410,992,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth $371,138,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

About HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare, Inc is a healthcare services company that operates hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, emergency care facilities, physician practices and other healthcare sites. Its facilities provide a broad range of services, including acute and emergency care, surgery, cardiology, oncology, women’s and children’s services, behavioral health and outpatient care.

The company serves patients primarily across the United States through a network of healthcare facilities in numerous states.