Prudential PLC Acquires 10,447 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Prudential PLC grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 143.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,715 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,447 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $5,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bangor Savings Bank grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 112.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 284.0% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE:HCA opened at $386.34 on Wednesday. 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 fifty day moving average of $358.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $336.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.67. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.96 and a fifty-two week high of $403.05.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $17.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.05 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 553.13%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on HCA. Wolfe Research raised shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $367.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $359.89.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total value of $659,327.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 17,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,303,912.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total value of $659,327.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 17,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,303,912.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total transaction of $1,085,804.37. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,844 shares of company stock valued at $3,185,932. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.