Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Decreases Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lowered its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 5.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,063 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,137 shares during the period. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $12,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 112.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 284.0% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HCA. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 target price for the company. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $359.89.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of HCA opened at $387.98 on Monday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.96 and a 1 year high of $403.05. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $355.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $336.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.13 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.06.

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. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 553.13% and a net margin of 8.40%. The business had revenue of $17.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is currently 13.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total value of $659,327.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 17,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,303,912.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 40,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,569,729.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total transaction of $659,327.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 17,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,303,912.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,844 shares of company stock worth $3,185,932. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.