AJ Advisors LLC Lowers Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

AJ Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 61.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,036 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,662 shares during the period. HCA Healthcare comprises 0.2% of AJ Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. AJ Advisors LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $694,985,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake 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 worth $1,219,121,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183,890 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 57.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,792,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $931,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019,750 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 4.2% in 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 period. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $131,527,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $359.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $367.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $356.17.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,449 shares in the company, valued at $14,569,729.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total transaction of $1,085,804.37. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,436,623.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,844 shares of company stock worth $3,185,932. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of HCA stock traded up $2.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $395.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 904,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,126,563. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.96 and a 52-week high of $395.91. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $348.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $332.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $103.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.68.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.53. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 553.13% and a net margin of 8.40%. The firm had revenue of $17.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

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.