HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 19.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 235,194 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,875 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.09% of HCA Healthcare worth $78,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 29.9% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 13,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,636,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Apexium Financial LP acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth $361,000. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 11,404,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,086,836,000 after purchasing an additional 456,738 shares during the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 226,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,326,000 after acquiring an additional 33,271 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 60.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 365,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,065,000 after acquiring an additional 138,146 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA Healthcare stock traded down $1.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $321.73. The stock had a trading volume of 1,544,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,131,005. 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 $84.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.25, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.68. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.96 and a 1-year high of $344.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $328.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $320.91.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 674.49% and a net margin of 8.20%. The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.93 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 22,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,977,880. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, 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 value of $607,673.34. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,397,042.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $303,576.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 22,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,977,880. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,397 shares of company stock worth $3,921,929 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HCA. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price target on 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 reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Baird R W raised HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Four research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.06.

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.