Have HCA Healthcare Insiders Been Selling Stock?

We wouldn't blame HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) shareholders if they were a little worried about the fact that Jon Foster, the Executive VP & COO recently netted about US$5.8m selling shares at an average price of US$369. However, that sale only accounted for 8.4% of their holding, so arguably it doesn't say much about their conviction.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At HCA Healthcare

Notably, that recent sale by Jon Foster is the biggest insider sale of HCA Healthcare shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to take some cash off the table, even below the current price of US$388. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. Please do note, however, that sellers may have a variety of reasons for selling, so we don't know for sure what they think of the stock price. This single sale was just 8.4% of Jon Foster's stake.

Insiders in HCA Healthcare didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

See our latest analysis for HCA Healthcare

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Does HCA Healthcare Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that HCA Healthcare insiders own 1.4% of the company, worth about US$1.3b. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The HCA Healthcare Insider Transactions Indicate?

An insider hasn't bought HCA Healthcare stock in the last three months, but there was some selling. And even if we look at the last year, we didn't see any purchases. But since HCA Healthcare is profitable and growing, we're not too worried by this. It is good to see high insider ownership, but the insider selling leaves us cautious. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. To help with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs (1 is significant!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in HCA Healthcare.

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For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.