Sunbelt Securities Inc. Acquires 1,392 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 284.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,882 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HCA. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 14.9% in the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,336,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter worth about $566,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 3.0% in the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,803,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.1% during the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 16,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,667,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $340.36 on Thursday. 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 price of $323.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $316.25. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.96 and a fifty-two week high of $343.53. The firm has a market cap of $89.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.69.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. HCA Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HCA has been the subject of several research reports. Baird R W raised shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $356.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $325.59.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total transaction of $494,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 34,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,544,316. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,863 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.18, for a total value of $607,673.34. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,397,042.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total transaction of $494,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,544,316. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,397 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,929 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.