BDF Gestion Sells 6,998 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

BDF Gestion lessened its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 58.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,994 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,998 shares during the quarter. BDF Gestion's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $1,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Raymond James downgraded HCA Healthcare from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $382.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $1,363,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,445,700. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total transaction of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,415,579. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $334.89. 172,778 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,672,120. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $313.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $352.96. 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 52-week low of $289.98 and a 52-week high of $417.14. The firm has a market cap of $84.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.26, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business posted $5.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.91 EPS 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 issued a $0.72 dividend. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is presently 12.02%.

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.