Planning Directions Inc. Buys Shares of 582 HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Planning Directions Inc. acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 582 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 112.5% during the second quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 284.0% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on HCA. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $367.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $396.00 to $392.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.00.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:HCA opened at $342.96 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $238.82 and a 12-month high of $417.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.68. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $385.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $357.92.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.85%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total value of $3,221,340.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,678 shares in the company, valued at $11,438,494.76. This represents a 21.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $1,363,950.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,445,700. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,155 shares of company stock valued at $5,608,990 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.