Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Purchases 93,219 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 756,510 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 93,219 shares during the period. HCA Healthcare accounts for 1.1% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of HCA Healthcare worth $227,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HCA. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,033 shares of the company's stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Commerce Bank boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 11,397 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,421,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 188,971 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,726,000 after purchasing an additional 2,462 shares in the last quarter. Ally Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $900,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1,470.4% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 12,218 shares of the company's stock worth $3,667,000 after purchasing an additional 11,440 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded up $4.24 during trading on Thursday, hitting $340.22. 1,112,788 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,666,056. The stock's fifty day moving average is $329.11 and its 200 day moving average is $333.15. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The stock has a market cap of $83.76 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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 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 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HCA has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $336.00 price target (down previously from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $381.67.

Insider Activity

In related 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare 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.