HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA Stock: Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Holdings

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 653,234 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 122,894 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $278,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HCA. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 10.8% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,820,000 after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6.7% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 14,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,033,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth approximately $139,000. Cherokee Insurance Co lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cherokee Insurance Co now owns 9,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,011,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of HCA stock opened at $500.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $104.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.11. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $353.99 and a 1 year high of $556.52. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $451.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $445.95.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $7.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.65 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $19.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.33 billion. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 198.52% and a net margin of 8.61%. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.96 EPS. Analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 30.15 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on HCA shares. Leerink Partners reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $492.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Friday, September 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $490.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $496.00 to $521.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $480.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 21,713 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $494.95, for a total transaction of $10,746,849.35. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $4,949,500. This represents a 68.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Erica Rossitto sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.81, for a total transaction of $1,770,335.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,791,005.06. This represents a 20.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,413 shares of company stock worth $18,251,464. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

HCA Healthcare is a healthcare services company that operates hospitals and other care facilities. Its services include inpatient and outpatient care, emergency treatment, surgery, diagnostic services and specialized care across areas such as cancer and cardiovascular medicine. The company serves patients in the United States and the United Kingdom through its network of hospitals and outpatient facilities, including surgery centers, urgent care clinics and physician practices. Founded in 1968, HCA Healthcare is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.