Ieq Capital LLC Sells 836 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Ieq Capital LLC lessened its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,703 shares of the company's stock after selling 836 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,612,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HCA. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,241,000 after acquiring an additional 4,285 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Group LP acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $150,548,000. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth about $18,044,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $869,000. Finally, NRI Wealth Management LC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,896,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 4.0 %

NYSE HCA traded down $13.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $319.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,104,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,686,053. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $314.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $350.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.55, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.64. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 earned $5.90 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com downgraded HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut HCA Healthcare from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $385.67.

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.