HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Stock Holdings Lifted by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,278 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,473 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $8,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 11,655,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,498,417,000 after buying an additional 116,826 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,503,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,351,830,000 after acquiring an additional 23,177 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,871,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,159,882,000 after purchasing an additional 50,321 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,928,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $878,975,000 after purchasing an additional 19,121 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $840,286,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA stock opened at $354.23 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $335.10 and its 200-day moving average is $329.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12, a PEG 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.

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

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised HCA Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $336.00 target price (down from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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 report on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim started coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $381.13.

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.