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

Financial Security Advisor Inc. cut its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,336 shares of the company’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare comprises approximately 0.6% of Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 322.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,276,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397,883 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,669,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,842,000 after buying an additional 174,946 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 2.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,487,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,511,000 after acquiring an additional 41,190 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,339,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,467,000 after purchasing an additional 143,995 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 120.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,264,000 after purchasing an additional 476,756 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HCA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com downgraded HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America reduced their price target on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $320.55 on Friday. The firm 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. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $315.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $349.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 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 prior year, the firm earned $5.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 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.