HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) SVP Sells $303,576.00 in Stock

HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $303,576.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 22,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,977,880. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:HCA opened at $309.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.66. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $215.96 and a twelve month high of $335.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $321.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.93 EPS. HCA Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, January 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $356.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.59.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCA Healthcare

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

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.