Truist Financial Corp Decreases Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Truist Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 433,414 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,932 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp owned approximately 0.16% of HCA Healthcare worth $117,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,152,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $529,452,000 after buying an additional 67,332 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1.4% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,150,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,860,000 after purchasing an additional 30,072 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 5.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,146,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,081,000 after purchasing an additional 102,025 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 3.7% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,594,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,177,000 after purchasing an additional 57,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1.1% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 605,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,101,000 after purchasing an additional 6,368 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total transaction of $1,305,067.02. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 344 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.97, for a total transaction of $110,757.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $789,470.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,840 shares of company stock worth $4,588,869 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded down $7.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $306.69. 2,257,051 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,051,296. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.96 and a fifty-two week high of $335.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07. The firm has a market cap of $81.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $323.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $295.00.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 996.30% and a net margin of 8.07%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.93 EPS. HCA Healthcare’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on HCA shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $277.00 to $301.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.88.

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.