HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. cut its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 13.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,828 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,267 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $11,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HCA. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 99.0% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 191 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total value of $5,797,585.36. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,670,420.72. This trade represents a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded up $0.40 on Friday, hitting $377.26. 4,238,388 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,470,176. The stock has a market cap of $90.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The firm's 50-day moving average is $362.30 and its 200 day moving average is $334.84. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $289.98 and a 52-week high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $0.70. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 1,063.91% and a net margin of 8.07%. The company had revenue of $18.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.36 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HCA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $384.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Stephens raised shares of HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $410.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $392.47.

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.