HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Federated Hermes Inc.

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. has reduced its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. by 16.1%, selling 5,227 shares and retaining a total of 27,209 shares valued at approximately $9.4 million.
• For the latest quarter, HCA Healthcare reported earnings per share of $6.84, exceeding forecasts and indicating a 6.4% year-over-year revenue growth.
• HCA Healthcare declared a quarterly dividend of $0.72, translating to an annual yield of 0.8%, with a payout ratio of 12.11%.

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 16.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,209 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,227 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $9,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HCA. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 888.9% during the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 344.0% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 111 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 75.8% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 116 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 99.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 191 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE HCA traded up $2.85 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $356.84. 1,369,756 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,628,465. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $289.98 and a 52-week high of $417.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.98. The business's fifty day moving average price is $370.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $347.42.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.20 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 7,363.11% and a net margin of 8.21%. The business had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.50 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is currently 12.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of HCA Healthcare 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 12,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,670,420.72. The trade was a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HCA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America cut HCA Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $394.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Stephens raised HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wolfe Research cut HCA Healthcare from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on HCA Healthcare from $416.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $396.46.

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.