HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 14.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,703 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,298 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. PFG Advisors grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 1,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,132,000. TIAA Trust National Association grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 14,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,910,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 19,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,175,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $329.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $359.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $344.06.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA Healthcare stock traded down $7.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $355.35. 800,220 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,159,108. The firm has a market cap of $91.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.76, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $333.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $324.49. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.96 and a fifty-two week high of $369.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $17.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.05 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 553.13%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.43 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jeffrey E. Cohen sold 1,650 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.00, for a total transaction of $516,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,622,905. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 6,311 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $316.88, for a total transaction of $1,999,829.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,387,253.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jeffrey E. Cohen sold 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.00, for a total value of $516,450.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,185 shares in the company, valued at $1,622,905. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,268 shares of company stock worth $6,804,285. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.