HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Holdings Reduced by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,644,716 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,902 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.63% of HCA Healthcare worth $528,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 112.5% in the second quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 284.0% in the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.1 %

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $403.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $105.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $378.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $343.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.96 and a 1-year high of $409.42.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $17.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.05 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 553.13%. HCA Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

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 of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HCA. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, August 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $359.89.

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.