Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Cuts Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. decreased its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 15.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 926,547 shares of the company’s stock after selling 163,135 shares during the period. HCA Healthcare accounts for about 0.9% of Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $376,576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $869,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.6% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 225,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,335,000 after acquiring an additional 3,516 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 118.5% during the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 35,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,425,000 after acquiring an additional 19,247 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 3.3% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 162,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,257,000 after acquiring an additional 5,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 205.4% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 45,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,548,000 after acquiring an additional 30,693 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $475.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $438.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given 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, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $380.29.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA opened at $324.09 on Thursday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $251.55 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $367.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $358.65. The company has a market cap of $82.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 52,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,445,700. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,415,579. The trade was a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,155 shares of company stock valued at $5,608,990. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.