Sunpointe LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Sunpointe LLC lessened its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 913 shares of the company’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. Sunpointe LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America lowered 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. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE HCA opened at $320.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $81.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $313.30 and a 200-day moving average of $351.29. 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 quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 period last year, the firm earned $5.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.02%.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.