ING Groep NV Trims Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

ING Groep NV cut its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,944 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,257 shares during the period. ING Groep NV's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $14,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 322.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company's stock worth $1,276,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397,883 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 120.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company's stock worth $262,264,000 after purchasing an additional 476,756 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter valued at about $150,548,000. Canoe Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 226,952.9% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 231,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,513,000 after acquiring an additional 231,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 210.6% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 306,796 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,691,000 after purchasing an additional 208,015 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA traded up $7.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $326.67. The company had a trading volume of 1,573,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,640,281. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $417.14. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $313.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $350.53. The company has a market capitalization of $81.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.64.

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

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is 13.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HCA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com lowered HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $385.67.

Insider Activity

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.