HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Forsta AP Fonden

Forsta AP Fonden decreased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,500 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $16,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Canoe Financial LP bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on HCA shares. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Raymond James downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $382.19.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA traded up $8.02 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $335.64. The stock had a trading volume of 246,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,699,006. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $313.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $353.09. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71. The company has a market capitalization of $85.02 billion, a PE ratio of 15.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 520.98%. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 21.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is 11.85%.

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.