HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Position Cut by Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 3.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,568,712 shares of the company’s stock after selling 61,947 shares during the period. HCA Healthcare accounts for about 2.2% of Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.60% of HCA Healthcare worth $503,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HCA. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,264,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $665,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 948 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 62,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,814,000 after purchasing an additional 5,048 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,438,494.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the firm’s 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 directly 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 at this link. Also, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,454 shares in the company, valued at $3,436,623.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,202 shares of company stock worth $6,407,273. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE:HCA opened at $394.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $101.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G 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 twelve month low of $215.96 and a twelve month high of $403.05. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $362.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $338.12.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HCA. Baird R W raised shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $327.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.