Barclays PLC Has $318.73 Million Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 85.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,061,891 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 489,916 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.42% of HCA Healthcare worth $318,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth about $688,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,669,721 shares of the company's stock worth $660,842,000 after buying an additional 174,946 shares during the last quarter. American Trust acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth $372,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,278,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 5.2% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 3,871 shares of the company's stock worth $1,573,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA stock traded up $3.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $334.38. 1,830,621 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,390,869. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $82.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $328.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $335.10.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $5.90 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim began coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price 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, seven have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $381.67.

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.