Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 3,781 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 11.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,779 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,781 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $12,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter worth approximately $231,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 29.9% in the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 13,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,636,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Apexium Financial LP purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $361,000. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 11,404,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,086,836,000 after acquiring an additional 456,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 365,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,065,000 after purchasing an additional 138,146 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HCA. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, August 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $359.89.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA opened at $386.34 on Wednesday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $215.96 and a one year high of $403.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $358.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $336.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $17.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.05 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 553.13% and a net margin of 8.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total value of $659,327.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 17,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,303,912.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,436,623.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,844 shares of company stock worth $3,185,932. 1.60% of the stock is owned by 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.