HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 544,160 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,067 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.21% of HCA Healthcare worth $163,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth $840,286,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 62.0% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,500,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,461,000 after acquiring an additional 574,239 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 120.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,264,000 after purchasing an additional 476,756 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $150,548,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $74,121,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 4.8 %

NYSE:HCA opened at $332.53 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $327.23 and a 200-day moving average of $339.87. The stock has a market cap of $81.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, 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. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.90 EPS. Equities 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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 research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Company 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.