HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 6.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 396,391 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,016 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of HCA Healthcare worth $127,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,989,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,666,569,000 after buying an additional 60,304 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 11,404,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,086,836,000 after purchasing an additional 456,738 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,186,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,757,181,000 after buying an additional 170,560 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,503,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,121,000 after buying an additional 1,183,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 57.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,792,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $931,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019,750 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA stock opened at $395.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.96 and a 52 week high of $395.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $348.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $332.96.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $17.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.05 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 553.13% and a net margin of 8.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.29 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total transaction of $659,327.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 17,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,303,912.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Kathleen M. Whalen sold 2,987 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $363.51, for a total value of $1,085,804.37. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,436,623.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total transaction of $659,327.85. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 17,755 shares in the company, valued at $6,303,912.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,844 shares of company stock worth $3,185,932. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HCA shares. StockNews.com raised HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $367.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $359.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $356.17.

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.