Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $344.89 Million Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,149,043 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,590 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.45% of HCA Healthcare worth $344,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 322.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,276,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397,883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 120.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,264,000 after acquiring an additional 476,756 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth $150,548,000. Canoe Financial LP grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 226,952.9% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 231,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,513,000 after purchasing an additional 231,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 43,546.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 223,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,074,000 after buying an additional 222,956 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of HCA opened at $320.03 on Thursday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $315.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $348.17. The stock has a market cap of $79.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HCA. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp reduced their price target on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

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.