Fmr LLC Sells 1,468,086 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

FMR LLC decreased its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 46.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,673,683 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,468,086 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned approximately 0.66% of HCA Healthcare worth $502,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 1.1 %

HCA traded down $3.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $336.82. 320,397 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,386,038. The company has a market cap of $82.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48. 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 one year low of $289.98 and a one year high of $417.14. The company's fifty day moving average price is $327.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $335.63.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $5.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.11%.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare 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 transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $336.00 price target (down from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $381.67.

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.