Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases Shares of 64,463 HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 64,463 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,133,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,069,974,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,262,513,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter worth about $410,992,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $371,138,000. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $374,037,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:HCA opened at $417.57 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $401.08 and a 200-day moving average of $441.46. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $353.99 and a 1 year high of $556.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.10.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $7.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $20.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 10.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCA has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $500.00 to $431.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $490.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $462.64.

HCA Healthcare Company 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.