Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Trims Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,392 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,175 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $5,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,787 shares of the company's stock worth $3,838,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 10,592 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,153,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1.6% during the third quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the company's stock worth $1,003,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 700 shares of the company's stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Truist Financial cut their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. One equities research 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE HCA traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $337.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,191,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,296,431. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The business's fifty day moving average price is $322.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $341.89. The firm has a market cap of $83.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $289.98 and a 52-week high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the business posted $5.90 EPS. Analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

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.