Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Buys 212 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,096 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 212 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth $30,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA stock traded down $7.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $306.60. 2,257,039 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,107,586. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.96 and a 52-week high of $335.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $81.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $323.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $295.00.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 996.30% and a net margin of 8.07%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.93 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.91%.

HCA Healthcare declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on HCA. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays began coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $356.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $310.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value of $1,185,327.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,880,993. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value of $1,185,327.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,899 shares in the company, valued at $4,880,993. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.79, for a total value of $981,728.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 24,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,647,967.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,840 shares of company stock valued at $4,588,869 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.