HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) EVP Michael S. Cuffe Sells 1,600 Shares of Stock

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,544,316. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA opened at $309.42 on Thursday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.96 and a 12 month high of $335.83. The company has a market cap of $81.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $321.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $298.85.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.93 EPS. HCA Healthcare’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.74 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

HCA Healthcare declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Barclays increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $356.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.59.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 26.7% during 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 last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.4% in the first quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $881,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $711,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.