Insider Selling: HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) SVP Sells 9,533 Shares of Stock

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.2 %

HCA opened at $316.95 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The stock has a market cap of $80.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.43, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.64. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $313.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $351.78. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on HCA shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

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.