Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Cuts Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL decreased its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,851 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,016 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $13,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 461 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.4% during the first quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $881,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.0% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $303,576.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 22,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,977,880. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $303,576.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 22,365 shares in the company, valued at $6,977,880. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total value of $494,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,544,316. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,397 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,929. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA traded up $1.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $354.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,215,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,679,664. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.68. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.96 and a fifty-two week high of $356.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $330.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $323.02.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.53. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 553.13% and a net margin of 8.40%. The business had revenue of $17.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on HCA shares. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen cut their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $371.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday. SVB Leerink raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $367.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $329.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $339.72.

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.