DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Purchases 30,139 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 45.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 96,506 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,139 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $31,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the first quarter worth $36,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the first quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE HCA traded down $6.76 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $356.36. 1,604,536 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,536,892. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.76, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.68. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.96 and a twelve month high of $369.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $334.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $324.97.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $17.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.05 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 553.13% and a net margin of 8.40%. HCA Healthcare’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.43 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $329.00 to $378.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $371.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $327.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, SVB Leerink upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $367.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $344.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 6,311 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.88, for a total value of $1,999,829.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,387,253.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 6,311 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.88, for a total transaction of $1,999,829.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,387,253.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total transaction of $1,085,804.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,436,623.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,268 shares of company stock valued at $6,804,285 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.