Blue Trust Inc. Sells 1,605 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Blue Trust Inc. decreased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 39,095 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,605 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $11,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of HCA stock opened at $316.18 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The stock has a market cap of $80.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.64. 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 50 day simple moving average of $313.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $352.55.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same period 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 year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on HCA. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare 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.