HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP cut its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 95.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,652 shares of the company's stock after selling 83,905 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $1,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HCA. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 99.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 191 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth $64,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.7%

HCA traded up $2.64 on Friday, hitting $381.29. The company had a trading volume of 2,556,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,440,469. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $351.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $330.18. 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 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.46.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.75 by $0.70. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. The company had revenue of $18.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.36 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is 12.81%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of HCA Healthcare 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 12,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,670,420.72. The trade was a 55.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HCA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $384.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $320.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Baird R W downgraded HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $385.47.

HCA Healthcare 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.