Blue Trust Inc. Increases Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 40,700 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $16,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at $223,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $303,000. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.3% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $850,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 14,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,952,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.6% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 17,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,681,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA stock opened at $415.67 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $392.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $350.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.94. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.96 and a 1 year high of $417.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.67.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $17.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.29 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,569,729.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total value of $1,085,804.37. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,454 shares in the company, valued at $3,436,623.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,202 shares of company stock valued at $6,407,273 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $359.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Wolfe Research raised shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $438.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.65.

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.