HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA Shares Sold by Equitable Trust Co.

Equitable Trust Co. trimmed its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 4.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 169,038 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,054 shares during the period. HCA Healthcare makes up about 3.2% of Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $64,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $375.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $445.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $425.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total value of $1,606,670.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,194,716.52. The trade was a 10.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 1.1%

HCA stock opened at $410.71 on Tuesday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $439.01. The firm has a market cap of $96.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $406.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $376.56.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.20 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.21% and a negative return on equity of 7,363.11%. The company had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.50 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.500-27.000 EPS. Equities analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.11%.

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.