HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC reduced its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 14.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,997 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,435 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $4,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HCA. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth $1,021,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 734 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 4,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,277,000 after acquiring an additional 946 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,307,000 after acquiring an additional 972 shares during the period. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the company's stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were 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 directly owns 12,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,670,420.72. This represents a 55.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:HCA traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $379.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,103,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,469,725. The company has a market capitalization of $91.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.49. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. 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 50 day moving average price of $363.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $335.36.

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

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HCA shares. Stephens raised HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $410.00 target price on HCA Healthcare and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Seven investment 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $394.33.

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.