Argent Trust Co Decreases Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Argent Trust Co cut its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 9.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,378 shares of the company’s stock after selling 581 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $1,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $327.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 target price for the company. Baird R W upgraded HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, August 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $359.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total value 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 approximately $11,438,494.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total value 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.20, for a total value of $1,440,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,569,729.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,202 shares of company stock valued at $6,407,273 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.6 %

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $399.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.06. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.96 and a fifty-two week high of $404.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $367.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $339.56. The company has a market capitalization of $104.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.67.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $17.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.05 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 553.13%. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.46 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

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.