Denali Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Denali Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 14.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,400 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Carret Asset Management LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 10,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,367,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Hedeker Wealth LLC raised its position in 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. grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 7,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,516,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 2,471.9% in the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 7,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,565,000 after acquiring an additional 7,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Strategies Group Inc. grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 16,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,357,000 after acquiring an additional 1,844 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $303,576.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 22,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,977,880. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 22,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,977,880. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 34,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,544,316. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,397 shares of company stock worth $3,921,929. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 2.1 %

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $326.31 on Thursday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $215.96 and a one year high of $344.20. The business’s fifty day moving average is $326.06 and its 200 day moving average is $318.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.68.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.92 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research 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. StockNews.com raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $371.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $359.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $326.53.

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.