HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Acquired by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 5.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,720 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HCA. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 112.5% in the second quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on HCA. SVB Leerink raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $367.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $359.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $329.00 to $378.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $344.06.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total value of $659,327.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 17,755 shares in the company, valued at $6,303,912.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total value of $659,327.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 17,755 shares in the company, valued at $6,303,912.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.20, for a total transaction of $1,440,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,449 shares in the company, valued at $14,569,729.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,707 shares of company stock worth $3,793,606 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of HCA stock traded up $7.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $368.67. 590,899 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,151,968. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.96 and a fifty-two week high of $369.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $96.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.68. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $337.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $326.90.

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

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

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.