PGGM Investments Trims Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

PGGM Investments reduced its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,907 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,067 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $10,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HCA. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 3.1 %

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $313.49 on Thursday. 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 market cap of $77.18 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $318.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $346.27.

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

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Bank of America cut their target price 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.