Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 17,271 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 196,389 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,271 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.08% of HCA Healthcare worth $58,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management increased its position 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 buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James lowered HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE HCA opened at $320.82 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.60, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $313.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $351.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.08. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released 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 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 12.02%.

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.