Bridgewater Associates LP Purchases 220,512 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 88.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 470,553 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 220,512 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare makes up 0.6% of Bridgewater Associates LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.19% of HCA Healthcare worth $141,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HCA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth approximately $840,286,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake 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 valued at $450,461,000 after purchasing an additional 574,239 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 85.7% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,061,891 shares of the company's stock worth $318,727,000 after buying an additional 489,916 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 120.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $262,264,000 after acquiring an additional 476,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth about $74,121,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA traded up $3.38 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $334.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,830,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,390,869. The company has a market cap of $82.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $328.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $335.10. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $289.98 and a 52-week high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last posted 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 last year, the company earned $5.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HCA. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America decreased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $381.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.