Railway Pension Investments Ltd Purchases 5,100 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Railway Pension Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 148,367 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,100 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd owned about 0.06% of HCA Healthcare worth $49,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA traded down $6.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $356.36. The company had a trading volume of 1,604,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,536,892. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 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 $369.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $334.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $324.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.53. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 553.13% and a net margin of 8.40%. The firm had revenue of $17.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HCA. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. SVB Leerink lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $367.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $327.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $344.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 6,311 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,387,253.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total value of $1,085,804.37. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,436,623.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 6,311 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,387,253.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,268 shares of company stock worth $6,804,285. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.