HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lessened its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,519,837 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,127 shares during the period. HCA Healthcare makes up 0.6% of Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.99% of HCA Healthcare worth $756,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,503,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,351,830,000 after buying an additional 23,177 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $840,286,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 11.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,669,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,842,000 after buying an additional 174,946 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,500,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,461,000 after acquiring an additional 574,239 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,339,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,467,000 after acquiring an additional 143,995 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was 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 owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA stock opened at $342.25 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $324.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $341.25. The company has a market capitalization of $84.26 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.90 earnings per share. Analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on HCA shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.67.

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.