HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by LGT Group Foundation

LGT Group Foundation trimmed its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,091 shares of the company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $7,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 461 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $711,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 11,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $289,299.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $520,474. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $289,299.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $520,474. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total transaction of $1,305,067.02. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,138,652.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,127 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,364. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of HCA stock traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $309.48. 618,180 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,094,530. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.96 and a 1 year high of $335.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $322.64 and a 200 day moving average of $297.17. The firm has a market cap of $81.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.66.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 674.49% and a net margin of 8.20%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.93 EPS. Analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.74 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $301.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.59.

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.