Wedmont Private Capital Buys 463 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,183 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $1,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 112.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 284.0% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

NYSE HCA opened at $387.25 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $385.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $346.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11. The stock has a market cap of $101.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.67. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.96 and a 12 month high of $409.42.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $17.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.05 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 553.13% and a net margin of 8.40%. HCA Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.46 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $367.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com raised HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $359.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total value of $3,221,340.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,438,494.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,569,729.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,202 shares of company stock worth $6,407,273. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.