DnB Asset Management AS Trims Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

DnB Asset Management AS lowered its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 46.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,551 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,000 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $10,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 61.3% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,042 shares of the company's stock worth $1,643,000 after buying an additional 1,536 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,687 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.4% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,022 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,228,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 253.9% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 3,189 shares of the company's stock worth $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 2,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.0% in the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 1,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on HCA shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded up $1.78 during trading on Thursday, reaching $348.81. 593,295 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,347,010. The firm has a market cap of $85.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $326.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $340.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $289.98 and a 1-year high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share 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 firm posted $5.90 EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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 paid a $0.72 dividend. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

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.