Bank of Montreal Can Sells 49,603 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Bank of Montreal Can lessened its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 237,031 shares of the company's stock after selling 49,603 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.09% of HCA Healthcare worth $71,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Activest Wealth Management increased 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded up $3.44 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $336.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 231,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,386,573. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $82.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $327.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $336.07.

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, 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 period last year, the business posted $5.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is presently 13.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $3,075,250.47. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HCA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays cut their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare 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.