KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases Shares of 66,938 HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 66,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,091,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 322.3% in 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. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 62.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,500,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,461,000 after buying an additional 574,239 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 120.1% in 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 acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $150,548,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $74,121,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HCA shares. KeyCorp dropped 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America decreased 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE:HCA opened at $329.25 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $417.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $321.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $343.07.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the firm earned $5.90 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.11%.

HCA Healthcare Company 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.