Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 15,071 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 19.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 91,571 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,071 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $37,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 322.3% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at about $131,527,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 53.3% during the 2nd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,472,000 after buying an additional 400,000 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1,215.6% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 160,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,493,000 after buying an additional 148,092 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 631,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,002,000 after buying an additional 88,948 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $325.47 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $373.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $358.28. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $245.84 and a 1-year high of $417.14. The firm has a market cap of $82.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total transaction of $3,221,340.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,678 shares in the company, valued at $11,438,494.76. This represents a 21.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at $2,415,579. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,155 shares of company stock worth $5,608,990 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Wolfe Research raised HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $380.29.

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.