CenterBook Partners LP Makes New Investment in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,538 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,962,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,503,849 shares of the company's stock worth $1,351,830,000 after buying an additional 23,177 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1.3% during the fourth 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 HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $840,286,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,669,721 shares of the company's stock worth $660,842,000 after purchasing an additional 174,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 62.0% during the fourth 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. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE:HCA traded down $3.97 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $336.65. 426,264 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,386,419. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $327.61 and a 200 day moving average of $335.63. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14. 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 capitalization of $82.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48.

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, 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $5.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on HCA. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $381.67.

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.