CWA Asset Management Group LLC Sells 5,410 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC lowered its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 85.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 897 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,410 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $310,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 26.9% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth about $1,021,000. OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 1,049 shares of the company's stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth about $117,984,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 117.5% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 92,495 shares of the company's stock worth $27,762,000 after buying an additional 49,968 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE HCA traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $377.26. 4,238,388 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,470,176. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $90.76 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.49. The company's fifty day moving average is $362.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $334.94. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $18.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.36 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is 12.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 12,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,670,420.72. This trade represents a 55.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays set a $416.00 price target on HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Stephens upgraded HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $384.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Baird R W downgraded HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $320.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.