Blue Trust Inc. Has $12.02 Million Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Blue Trust Inc. reduced its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 40,045 shares of the company’s stock after selling 655 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $12,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on HCA. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded 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, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.27.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $312.51 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $313.49 and its 200 day moving average is $352.87. The stock has a market cap of $79.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $279.93 and a 12-month high of $417.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 520.98% and a net margin of 8.52%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 21.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.