Blue Trust Inc. Cuts Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 13.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,828 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,267 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $11,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on HCA. Stephens upgraded HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $384.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. 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. Barclays set a $416.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Seven equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $392.47.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total transaction of $5,797,585.36. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 12,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,670,420.72. This trade represents a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of HCA stock opened at $376.57 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $90.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $360.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $334.08. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14.

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

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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