HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) SVP Sells $1,085,804.37 in Stock

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total value of $1,085,804.37. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,436,623.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded up $1.70 on Wednesday, hitting $363.05. 1,243,361 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,160,018. The company has a market cap of $95.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.10, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.68. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.96 and a 12-month high of $366.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $331.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $323.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $17.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.05 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 553.13%. HCA Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.43 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on HCA. Baird R W raised HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $327.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $329.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $359.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $344.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. nVerses Capital LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 260.0% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $578,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 46.0% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth about $269,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 22,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,262,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by 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.