HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Acquired by Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,660 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,170 shares during the period. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $5,601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 322.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,276,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,397,883 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted 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 valued at $660,842,000 after purchasing an additional 174,946 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 2.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,487,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $604,511,000 after buying an additional 41,190 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 12.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,339,638 shares of the company's stock worth $544,467,000 after acquiring an additional 143,995 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 120.1% in the 4th 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. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 4.0 %

Shares of HCA stock traded down $13.42 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $319.65. 2,109,549 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,691,924. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $314.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $350.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.64. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $289.98 and a 52-week high of $417.14.

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

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related 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 transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on HCA shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered HCA Healthcare from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $385.67.

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.