National Bank of Canada FI Sells 59,197 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

National Bank of Canada FI cut its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 32.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,899 shares of the company’s stock after selling 59,197 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $34,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 461 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 11,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded up $0.97 on Monday, hitting $308.73. 346,378 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,090,979. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $215.96 and a one year high of $335.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $322.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $298.18. The company has a market capitalization of $80.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.66.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.93 EPS. HCA Healthcare’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.74 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 13.16%.

HCA Healthcare declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to repurchase $6.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $371.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $356.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total transaction of $1,305,067.02. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,138,652.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $289,299.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $520,474. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 4,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.21, for a total value of $1,305,067.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,138,652.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,482 shares of company stock worth $1,705,124 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare 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.