Barden Capital Management Inc. Buys 41 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Barden Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,921 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Barden Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $1,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 99.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth about $64,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $384.52 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $355.28 and its 200-day moving average is $331.71.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $0.70. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. The company had revenue of $18.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.36 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 12.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HCA. Stephens upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Barclays set a $416.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $320.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $388.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total transaction of $5,797,585.36. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,670,420.72. This trade represents a 55.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.