Westpac Banking Corp Purchases New Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 11,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,648,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,069,974,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,566,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,532,563,000 after purchasing an additional 76,039 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,999,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,334,040,000 after buying an additional 40,086 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,663,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,702,738,000 after purchasing an additional 13,565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth $1,262,513,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 5.6%

HCA opened at $429.08 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $353.99 and a 1-year high of $556.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $397.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $444.14. The company has a market capitalization of $92.90 billion, a PE ratio of 14.36, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.10.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $7.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.56 by $0.03. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 244.79% and a net margin of 8.77%.The business had revenue of $20.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.84 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 29.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 10.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on HCA. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $560.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Argus decreased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $560.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen cut HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on HCA Healthcare from $402.00 to $387.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $462.64.

HCA Healthcare Profile

HCA Healthcare is a for‑profit operator of healthcare facilities headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1968, the company owns and operates a network of hospitals and related healthcare facilities and has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to become a large provider of inpatient and outpatient services.

The company’s core activities include the operation of acute care hospitals, freestanding surgical and emergency centers, and outpatient clinics. HCA’s services encompass inpatient care, surgical services, emergency medicine, diagnostic imaging and laboratory testing, and various outpatient and ambulatory care offerings.