Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $48.16 Million Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 160,447 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,180 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.06% of HCA Healthcare worth $48,158,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE HCA opened at $342.25 on Monday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $417.14. The firm has a market cap of $84.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The company’s 50 day moving average is $324.53 and its 200-day moving average is $340.92.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its 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 return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America dropped their price target 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. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target 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 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

Insider Activity

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% 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.