HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Bought by Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC

Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 241,163 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,483 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare comprises about 3.6% of Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.10% of HCA Healthcare worth $72,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 31.7% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,241,000 after purchasing an additional 4,285 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $150,548,000. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $18,044,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $869,000. Finally, NRI Wealth Management LC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth $2,896,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.1 %

HCA stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $319.81. The company had a trading volume of 344,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,679,208. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $315.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $348.17. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week 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 cap of $79.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 last year, the company earned $5.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HCA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered HCA Healthcare from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $385.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.