HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Financial Security Advisor Inc.

Financial Security Advisor Inc. trimmed its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,336 shares of the company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the period. HCA Healthcare comprises about 0.6% of Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,241,000 after purchasing an additional 4,285 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Group LP purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at about $150,548,000. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth approximately $18,044,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $869,000. Finally, NRI Wealth Management LC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $2,896,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on HCA shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.2 %

HCA stock opened at $320.55 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $315.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $349.91. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $417.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The company has a market cap of $79.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.11%.

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.