Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 18,672 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 294,597 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,672 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.12% of HCA Healthcare worth $87,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,500,786 shares of the company's stock worth $450,461,000 after acquiring an additional 574,239 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 120.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company's stock worth $262,264,000 after purchasing an additional 476,756 shares during the period. Meritage Group LP purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $150,548,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth $74,121,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 226,952.9% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 231,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,513,000 after buying an additional 231,492 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HCA. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded up $0.31 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $345.86. 1,226,315 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,348,308. The stock has a market cap of $85.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $325.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $340.25. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 prior year, the company posted $5.90 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

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.