State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 43,446 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 37.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 73,095 shares of the company’s stock after selling 43,446 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $23,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1.3% in the second quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $878,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $881,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.7% during the second quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA stock opened at $391.57 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.96 and a 1 year high of $403.05. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $360.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $337.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $102.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.67.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.97 by $0.53. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.40% and a return on equity of 553.13%. The firm had revenue of $17.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.48 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend 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 Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the firm’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 17,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,303,912.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.20, for a total transaction of $1,440,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,449 shares in the company, valued at $14,569,729.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total value of $659,327.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 17,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,303,912.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,202 shares of company stock valued at $6,407,273 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $396.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Leerink Partners upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $367.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $359.89.

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.