Capital World Investors Has $878.98 Million Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,928,452 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,121 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned approximately 1.16% of HCA Healthcare worth $878,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 11,655,563 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,498,417,000 after buying an additional 116,826 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,503,849 shares of the company's stock worth $1,351,830,000 after purchasing an additional 23,177 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,871,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,159,882,000 after buying an additional 50,321 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $840,286,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE HCA traded up $11.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $335.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,402,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,387,438. The company has a market capitalization of $82.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.29, a PEG 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $328.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $333.13.

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

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is 13.11%.

Insider Activity

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HCA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and set a $336.00 price objective (down from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $381.67.

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.