Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys 13,910 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 155,990 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,910 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $42,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE HCA traded up $5.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $310.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,111,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,089,153. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $324.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $292.40. The stock has a market cap of $82.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.65. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.96 and a 52-week high of $335.83.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $5.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $17.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.51 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 996.30%. HCA Healthcare’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.91%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $289,299.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $520,474. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $289,299.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $520,474. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total transaction 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 approximately $4,880,993. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,840 shares of company stock worth $4,588,869. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on HCA shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $356.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.05.

HCA Healthcare Company 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.