Sector Gamma AS Acquires 2,883 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Sector Gamma AS boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,883 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,883 shares during the quarter. Sector Gamma AS’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $4,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Norges Bank bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter worth about $1,152,408,000. Viking Global Investors LP increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 58.5% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,872,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,214,000 after purchasing an additional 690,773 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,656,000 after acquiring an additional 47,960 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 6,115.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 911,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,309,000 after buying an additional 896,437 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.4% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 868,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,856,000 after purchasing an additional 3,396 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $400.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, October 27th. Barclays upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $445.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $425.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $488.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 3,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.79, for a total value of $1,843,990.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,105.73. This trade represents a 52.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of HCA opened at $470.52 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $480.37 and a 200 day moving average of $433.92. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $295.00 and a twelve month high of $520.00. The company has a market capitalization of $107.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.36.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.64 by $1.32. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 792.25% and a net margin of 8.53%.The firm had revenue of $19.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

About HCA Healthcare

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.