HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 30.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,344 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,743 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 99.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 191 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total value of $5,797,585.36. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,670,420.72. This trade represents a 55.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $320.00 to $385.00 in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays set a $416.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $410.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $384.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $392.47.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of HCA stock traded up $4.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $376.57. 1,374,261 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,459,618. The business's fifty day moving average is $359.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $333.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.06. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $417.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.49.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $0.70. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 1,063.91%. The firm had revenue of $18.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.36 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is 12.81%.

HCA Healthcare 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.