Mount Lucas Management LP Sells 181 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Mount Lucas Management LP reduced its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,952 shares of the company’s stock after selling 181 shares during the quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 31.7% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,241,000 after buying an additional 4,285 shares during the period. Meritage Group LP bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $150,548,000. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $18,044,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth approximately $869,000. Finally, NRI Wealth Management LC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $2,896,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA opened at $330.11 on Monday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $316.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $347.29. The stock has a market cap of $81.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share 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 previous year, the business posted $5.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HCA shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. 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 research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Barclays decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.67.

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.