LSV Asset Management Sells 81,549 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

LSV Asset Management decreased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 7.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 973,224 shares of the company’s stock after selling 81,549 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 0.37% of HCA Healthcare worth $324,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth about $694,985,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,183,890 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 112.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,772,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,815,000 after buying an additional 936,823 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 11,404,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,086,836,000 after purchasing an additional 456,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 230.5% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 553,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,747,000 after purchasing an additional 385,854 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.18, for a total transaction of $607,673.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,397,042.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,544,316. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,863 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.18, for a total transaction of $607,673.34. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,397,042.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,397 shares of company stock worth $3,921,929. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA traded up $6.81 during trading on Friday, hitting $324.32. 1,235,212 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,111,877. The firm has a market cap of $84.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $327.25 and its 200 day moving average is $319.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $215.96 and a one year high of $344.20.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. HCA Healthcare’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $327.06.

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.