Schroder Investment Management Group Decreases Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Schroder Investment Management Group lowered its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 697,938 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,060 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $208,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $342.25 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $324.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $341.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on 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. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.