International Assets Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 14,887 HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 14,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,030,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kinetic Partners Management LP bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth $50,524,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 501.8% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 208,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,401,000 after buying an additional 174,240 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 51.6% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 355,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,502,000 after purchasing an additional 121,100 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 83.4% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 254,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,579,000 after buying an additional 115,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avidity Partners Management LP bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,239,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on HCA. Barclays raised their price target on HCA Healthcare from $356.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on HCA Healthcare from $371.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $316.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at $3,138,652.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $289,299.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $520,474. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,055 shares of company stock worth $2,503,100 over the last 90 days. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 1.6 %

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $309.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $81.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $321.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $298.85. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $215.96 and a one year high of $335.83.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.93 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

HCA Healthcare announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.