Leuthold Group LLC Has $5.71 Million Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Leuthold Group LLC decreased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 19,029 shares of the company’s stock after selling 681 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $5,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,162,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 40,544.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 20,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,590,000 after purchasing an additional 20,272 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $268,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth $251,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of HCA opened at $316.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $78.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.64. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $313.53 and a 200 day moving average of $350.84.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $5.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.