Park Avenue Securities LLC Reduces Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Park Avenue Securities LLC reduced its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,776 shares of the company’s stock after selling 71 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $4,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at approximately $231,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 29.9% during the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 13,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,636,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Apexium Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth approximately $361,000. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 11,404,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,086,836,000 after buying an additional 456,738 shares during the period. Finally, Todd Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 226,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,326,000 after buying an additional 33,271 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded down $0.66 on Wednesday, hitting $352.27. 819,789 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,164,240. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $335.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $325.45. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.96 and a 12-month high of $369.41. The company has a market cap of $92.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.59, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.68.

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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HCA shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $375.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $329.00 to $378.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $344.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 6,311 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.88, for a total transaction of $1,999,829.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,387,253.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,436,623.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 6,311 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $316.88, for a total transaction of $1,999,829.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,387,253.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,668 shares of company stock valued at $6,309,885. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

About HCA Healthcare

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.