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

Gallacher Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,253 shares of the company’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HCA. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth $25,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $330.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James raised their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $356.00 to $367.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.59.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE HCA traded down $1.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $307.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,044,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,189,320. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $322.22 and its 200 day moving average is $298.18. The company has a market capitalization of $81.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.66. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $215.96 and a fifty-two week high of $335.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 674.49% and a net margin of 8.20%. The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.93 EPS. HCA Healthcare’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

HCA Healthcare announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Sammie S. Mosier sold 1,645 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $513,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,646 shares in the company, valued at $2,385,552. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 344 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.97, for a total transaction of $110,757.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $789,470.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Sammie S. Mosier sold 1,645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $513,240.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,385,552. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,127 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,364. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.