Candriam S.C.A. Sells 8,190 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Candriam S.C.A. reduced its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 8.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,643 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,190 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $29,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bangor Savings Bank raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 112.5% during the second quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 284.0% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $359.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.20, for a total transaction of $1,440,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,569,729.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total value of $1,085,804.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,436,623.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.20, for a total value of $1,440,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,569,729.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,844 shares of company stock valued at $3,185,932. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $387.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $355.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $336.01. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $215.96 and a 12-month high of $403.05.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $17.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.05 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 553.13% and a net margin of 8.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.29 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

HCA Healthcare 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.