Hartford Investment Management Co. Cuts Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,295 shares of the company’s stock after selling 399 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $3,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC now owns 8,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,297,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 5,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,086,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on HCA. Raymond James downgraded HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare 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 for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $312.55 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $79.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 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 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $417.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $313.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $353.04.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.02%.

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.