Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 2,016 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL cut its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,851 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,016 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $13,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Jeffrey E. Cohen sold 1,650 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.00, for a total value of $516,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,622,905. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jeffrey E. Cohen sold 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.00, for a total transaction of $516,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,185 shares in the company, valued at $1,622,905. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,863 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.18, for a total transaction of $607,673.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,397,042.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,397 shares of company stock worth $3,921,929. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $371.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $329.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, SVB Leerink upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $367.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $339.72.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded up $1.99 during trading on Friday, hitting $354.78. 1,215,941 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,679,664. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.02. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.96 and a 1 year high of $356.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.68. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $330.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $323.02.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $17.49 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.44 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.16%.

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.