Denali Advisors LLC Has $750,000 Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Denali Advisors LLC increased its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 78.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,500 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the quarter. Denali Advisors LLC's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HCA. FMR LLC lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 322.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company's stock worth $1,276,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,397,883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 476,756 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth $150,548,000. Canoe Financial LP raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 226,952.9% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 231,594 shares of the company's stock worth $69,513,000 after acquiring an additional 231,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 210.6% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 306,796 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,691,000 after purchasing an additional 208,015 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered HCA Healthcare from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $385.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA traded down $15.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $305.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,469,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,740,103. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $289.98 and a 1-year high of $417.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.64. 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 50-day moving average of $315.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $349.39.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (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 prior year, the firm posted $5.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

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.