Smith Group Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,754 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,047 shares during the quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $16,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 322.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Meritage Group LP purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at $150,548,000. Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 226,952.9% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 231,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,513,000 after acquiring an additional 231,492 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 210.6% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 306,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,691,000 after purchasing an additional 208,015 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 843,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,020,000 after buying an additional 193,075 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 1.1 %

HCA stock opened at $328.39 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $313.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $353.27. The company has a market cap of $83.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $281.61 and a 12 month high of $417.14.

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 return on equity of 520.98% and a net margin of 8.52%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 21.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 0.88%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total transaction of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at $2,415,579. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on HCA shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $382.19.

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.