HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Position Boosted by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 162,654 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,136 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned approximately 0.06% of HCA Healthcare worth $52,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,989,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,666,569,000 after acquiring an additional 60,304 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 11,404,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,086,836,000 after buying an additional 456,738 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,186,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,757,181,000 after acquiring an additional 170,560 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 35.7% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,503,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,890 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 57.5% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,792,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $931,342,000 after buying an additional 1,019,750 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA stock traded up $3.58 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $372.44. 213,251 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,148,344. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $338.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $327.32. 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 twelve month low of $215.96 and a twelve month high of $372.66. The company has a market capitalization of $97.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.68.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.53. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 553.13%. The firm had revenue of $17.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.43 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 17,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,303,912.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.20, for a total value of $1,440,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,569,729.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,844 shares of company stock worth $3,185,932 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Baird R W raised shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 target price on the stock. Finally, SVB Leerink increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $367.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $349.28.

HCA Healthcare Company 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.