HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 13.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 140,087 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,945 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $37,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth $25,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth $30,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.7 %

HCA opened at $310.06 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $81.21 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $321.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $298.27. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.96 and a 52 week high of $335.83.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.93 EPS. HCA Healthcare’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.74 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

HCA Healthcare announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that permits the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $316.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $303,576.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 22,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,977,880. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $289,299.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $520,474. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $303,576.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 22,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,977,880. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,455 shares of company stock valued at $2,008,700. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.