HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 28.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,857 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,908 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $1,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of HCA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,989,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,666,569,000 after purchasing an additional 60,304 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in 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. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,186,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,757,181,000 after acquiring an additional 170,560 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,503,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 57.5% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,792,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $931,342,000 after buying an additional 1,019,750 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HCA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $359.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $354.67.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA Healthcare stock remained flat at $373.77 during midday trading on Monday. 288,703 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,142,951. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $340.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $328.69. The firm has a market cap of $97.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.96 and a 52-week high of $375.81.

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

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $1,440,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,569,729.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,844 shares of company stock valued at $3,185,932 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.