HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Position Trimmed by Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd lowered its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 84.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,800 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $210,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HCA. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth about $567,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 4.9% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 29,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,960,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 2.3% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 110,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,750,000 after purchasing an additional 2,459 shares during the period. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth about $311,000. Finally, Planning Directions Inc. acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth about $236,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp cut their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned 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 price target of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA opened at $319.82 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $319.00 and its 200-day moving average is $344.95. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The company has a market capitalization of $78.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. 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 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 return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.90 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders 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 boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.