Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Cuts Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 5.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 157,518 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,912 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $52,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 52,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,030,000 after acquiring an additional 4,040 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,720,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,825,000. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.3% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 104,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,619,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA opened at $343.43 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.96 and a 1 year high of $343.73. The company has a market cap of $89.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $324.71 and a 200-day moving average of $316.70.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.92 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HCA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $327.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jeffrey E. Cohen sold 1,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.00, for a total value of $516,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,185 shares in the company, valued at $1,622,905. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jeffrey E. Cohen sold 1,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.00, for a total transaction of $516,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,622,905. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total value of $494,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,544,316. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,397 shares of company stock worth $3,921,929. 1.60% of the stock is 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.