Avestar Capital LLC Acquires 71 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Avestar Capital LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 8.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 901 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $366,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 322.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,276,909,000 after acquiring an additional 2,397,883 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at approximately $131,527,000. Darsana Capital Partners LP grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 53.3% during the 2nd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 1,150,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,472,000 after buying an additional 400,000 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter worth $95,882,000. Finally, Argent Capital Management LLC increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1,215.6% in the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 160,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,493,000 after purchasing an additional 148,092 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total transaction of $3,221,340.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,678 shares in the company, valued at $11,438,494.76. The trade was a 21.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total transaction of $1,023,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,415,579. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,155 shares of company stock worth $5,608,990. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $325.35 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $374.98 and a 200 day moving average of $358.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.41 billion, a PE ratio of 14.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.68. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $245.84 and a 52-week high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.12.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on HCA shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $396.00 to $392.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Wolfe Research raised shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $380.29.

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.