Kathryn A. Torres Sells 973 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Stock

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $303,576.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 22,365 shares in the company, valued at $6,977,880. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE HCA opened at $309.42 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $81.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $321.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $298.85. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.96 and a 52 week high of $335.83.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. The company’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.74 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Four 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.59.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. abrdn plc increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 4.8% during the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 164,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,444,000 after acquiring an additional 7,476 shares during the last quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 226,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,326,000 after buying an additional 33,271 shares during the period. Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at $10,085,000. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth about $1,100,000. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 60,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,425,000 after purchasing an additional 7,476 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.