108 Shares in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Acquired by Northwest Investment Counselors LLC

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $719,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 52,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,030,000 after acquiring an additional 4,040 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 97.5% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 87,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,479,000 after buying an additional 43,103 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 516 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,256,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA traded up $2.55 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $341.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 213,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,065,740. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $322.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $315.58. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $215.96 and a one year high of $343.53. The company has a market cap of $89.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.69.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.92 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.16%.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 $10,544,316. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,544,316. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,863 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.18, for a total transaction of $607,673.34. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,397,042.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,397 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,929. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $371.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $356.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.59.

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.