Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Sells 1,310 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. lowered its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,249 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,310 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare accounts for approximately 1.0% of Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $10,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 29.9% in the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 13,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,636,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Apexium Financial LP acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth about $361,000. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 11,404,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,086,836,000 after buying an additional 456,738 shares during the period. Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC now owns 226,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,326,000 after acquiring an additional 33,271 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 365,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,065,000 after purchasing an additional 138,146 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA Healthcare stock traded up $5.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $323.01. The stock had a trading volume of 399,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,105,579. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $327.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $319.95. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.96 and a 1 year high of $344.20. The stock has a market cap of $84.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.68.

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

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on HCA. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $359.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $327.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Baird R W upgraded HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.