HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 57.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 155,487 shares of the company’s stock after selling 212,193 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $46,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 322.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,276,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397,883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 120.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $150,548,000. Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 226,952.9% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 231,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,513,000 after purchasing an additional 231,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 210.6% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 306,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,691,000 after purchasing an additional 208,015 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $319.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $79.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.64. 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 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $313.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $350.53.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm posted $5.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HCA shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded 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 assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

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.