PFG Advisors Grows Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

PFG Advisors grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,821 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 322.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,276,909,000 after buying an additional 2,397,883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 120.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,264,000 after buying an additional 476,756 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth $150,548,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth $74,121,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 226,952.9% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 231,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,513,000 after buying an additional 231,492 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of HCA stock opened at $319.82 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $319.00 and a 200 day moving average of $345.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The stock has a market cap of $78.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

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.