HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Stock Position Reduced by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 375,204 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,910 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $101,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,899 shares in the company, valued at $4,880,993. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 3,861 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,899 shares in the company, valued at $4,880,993. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $289,299.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $520,474. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,840 shares of company stock worth $4,588,869. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA opened at $319.43 on Wednesday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.96 and a 1 year high of $335.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $324.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.19. The stock has a market cap of $84.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced 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. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 996.30% and a net margin of 8.07%. The company had revenue of $17.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 13.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $277.00 to $301.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Raymond James lifted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.05.

About HCA Healthcare

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.