HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) SVP Sells $1,085,804.37 in Stock

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total value of $1,085,804.37. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,436,623.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $356.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $91.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $334.20 and a 200 day moving average of $324.85. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.96 and a twelve month high of $369.41.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $17.49 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $375.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com raised HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird started coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $344.06.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HCA. PFG Advisors increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 1,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth $3,132,000. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 14,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,910,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 19,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,175,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.