B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Has $4.12 Million Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,719 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $4,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE HCA traded down $16.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $332.53. The company had a trading volume of 2,518,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,364,360. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $327.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $339.47. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The stock has a market cap of $81.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HCA. Barclays cut their price target on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note 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 for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $385.67.

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.