Blair William & Co. IL Buys 998 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 11.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,464 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 998 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $3,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $404.66 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $370.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $340.70. The stock has a market cap of $105.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.67. 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 1-year low of $215.96 and a 1-year high of $405.70.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $17.49 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.29 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,678 shares in the company, valued at $11,438,494.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.20, for a total transaction of $1,440,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,449 shares in the company, valued at $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. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird began coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $359.89.

About HCA Healthcare

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.