Carret Asset Management LLC Buys 190 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Carret Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,095 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $3,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hedeker Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 11,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,708,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Financial Security Advisor Inc. boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 7,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,516,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2,471.9% during the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 7,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,565,000 after purchasing an additional 7,391 shares during the last quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 12.8% in the first quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 16,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the first quarter valued at about $2,543,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.53.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA traded up $6.85 on Wednesday, hitting $326.55. 944,812 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,102,447. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $326.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $318.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26. The stock has a market cap of $85.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.68. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.96 and a fifty-two week high of $344.20.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 674.49% and a net margin of 8.20%. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.92 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total transaction of $494,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,544,316. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $303,576.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 22,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,977,880. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total value of $494,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,544,316. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,397 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,929. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.