Aviva PLC Decreases Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Aviva PLC trimmed its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 116,871 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,911 shares during the period. Aviva PLC's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $35,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HCA. Oarsman Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 286 shares of the company's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at $17,370,000. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth about $435,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 2,346 shares of the company's stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Finally, Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 19,490 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,850,000 after buying an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA stock traded down $3.04 on Friday, hitting $331.95. The company had a trading volume of 637,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,382,713. The firm has a market cap of $81.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $327.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $337.04. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.