Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 1,037 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado cut its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,398 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,037 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $8,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 112.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 284.0% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the company’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 approximately $6,303,912.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total transaction of $659,327.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 17,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,303,912.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.20, for a total transaction of $1,440,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,202 shares of company stock worth $6,407,273. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on HCA shares. StockNews.com raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $359.89.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of HCA stock opened at $404.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $105.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $370.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $340.65. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $215.96 and a one year high of $405.70.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $17.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.05 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 553.13%. HCA Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend 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.