HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Smith Group Asset Management LLC

Smith Group Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 53,754 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,047 shares during the quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $16,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 322.3% during 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. Meritage Group LP acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth $150,548,000. Canoe Financial LP lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 226,952.9% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 231,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,513,000 after buying an additional 231,492 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 210.6% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 306,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,691,000 after acquiring an additional 208,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 843,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,020,000 after purchasing an additional 193,075 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $1,363,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,445,700. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,415,579. This represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $382.19.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $328.39 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $313.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $353.27. The stock has a market cap of $83.18 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $281.61 and a 12-month high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 520.98% and a net margin of 8.52%. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.90 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 21.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 11.85%.

HCA Healthcare Company 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.