Handelsbanken Fonder AB Lowers Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 213,660 shares of the company’s stock after selling 908 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.08% of HCA Healthcare worth $86,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Bangor Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 112.5% in the second quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 284.0% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded up $1.61 on Friday, reaching $394.07. 787,871 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,131,020. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $215.96 and a 1-year high of $409.42. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $384.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $345.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.21 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.11.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $5.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.97 by $0.53. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 553.13% and a net margin of 8.40%. The firm had revenue of $17.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.29 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 22.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $315.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $376.00 to $396.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $359.89.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total value of $659,327.85. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 17,755 shares in the company, valued at $6,303,912.75. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,857 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.05, for a total transaction of $659,327.85. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 17,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,303,912.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total transaction of $3,221,340.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,438,494.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,202 shares of company stock valued at $6,407,273. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

About HCA Healthcare

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.