HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Position Lifted by Sunbelt Securities Inc.

Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 10.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,085 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 63,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,180,000 after buying an additional 10,491 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 165,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,691,000 after acquiring an additional 3,441 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 2,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 22,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,160,000 after buying an additional 5,244 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA opened at $405.45 on Wednesday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.96 and a 12-month high of $409.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.67. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $381.85 and a 200-day moving average of $344.10.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced 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. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 553.13%. The firm had revenue of $17.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 13.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HCA. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research upgraded HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $359.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 price target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $359.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total value of $659,327.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 17,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,303,912.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total transaction of $659,327.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 17,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,303,912.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total value of $3,221,340.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,438,494.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,202 shares of company stock worth $6,407,273. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.